Where is our state getting all this money for road repairs? 

To hear the state leaders tell it, we do not have enough money to pave a gravel road, let alone seemingly shut down a large percentage of roads for repair. 

However, whenever I have driven in the state for the last few years, I always run into construction. The interstate that runs past my town, maybe at most a half mile from my house, has been under construction for a number of years.  

Prior to that, a large segment just a few miles south of here was under construction for years. 

The section that runs through the state capital was closed recently. Right through the heart of downtown, and it was not just for a day or two. 

Seriously, where is this money coming from, since we have been told numerous times that we do not have the money for road repairs. 

It is not just interstates, either. It is all kinds of roads. 

A couple of years ago, the state road that I usually travel when I visit one of my daughters was closed because of bridge repairs. No big deal. No one wants to drive over a dangerous bridge. 

But earlier this summer the same road was closed again, and this time for a longer stretch. I could neither take that road or the usual alternate U.S. road to get to my daughter’s house. A map could not have helped, either. Fortunately, my son-in-law gave me clear directions using county roads. 

I took my son on a day trip a couple of weeks ago. We came home on a U.S. highway. There was major construction, with detours, in two places. One of the construction sites delayed us nearly an hour as we waited in non-moving traffic. 

Our state gas tax went up this year. Its purpose is road repair. If I heard the report correctly, it is going to rise every summer for the next decade. All for roads. 

To say I do not get it is an understatement, but it is probably not what you think. 

My problem is not roads being repaired. I rejoice when we have good roads. What upsets me is that there apparently is little or no coordination between agencies about when roads are going to be under construction. 

I understand road repair has to be completed while the weather permits, but if something is going to be closed for just a couple of weeks, or even a month, cannot that repair be done at a different time than a road in the same area? 

Why close down more than 1 artery at a time? 

The amount of road work being done does amaze me. For some of the roads, like my local interstate, someone is going to have to convince me that this particular road, which traverses the state completely from south to north, will ever be completely open. I do not think that travelers on this road will ever be able to make it through our state without a delay of some kind. 

I think that leaves a bad taste in passerby’s mouths. 

I am ready for a road construction holiday.