Gov. Bob McDonnell has ordered the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) to make pothole repair on state-maintained interstate highways, primary and secondary roads its top priority next month. Drivers are being encouraged to report potholes and other road hazards to www.VirginiaDOT.org or VDOT’s Highway Helpline at 800-367-7689.
Recent back-to-back blizzards in Northern Virginia and colder-than-average temperatures throughout the mid-Atlantic have turned the state’s highways into pock-marked obstacle courses that damage vehicles and threaten motorists’ safety, so the pothole blitz was a good call, as was the governor’s decision to reopen shuttered interstate rest stops closed by his predecessor to keep sleepy truckers off the roads.
But McDonnell shouldn’t stop there.
VDOT had to spend more than $100 million on snow plowing and road salting during the once-in-a-century weather emergency, which was well over the amount it budgeted for snow removal. Some of the extra funds had to come from VDOT’s maintenance fund, which will further slow down planned repaving and concrete patching operations that were already far behind schedule. http://www.fairfaxtimes.com/cms/story.php?id=1075
Like most states, Virginia is grappling with a severe budget crisis, so it will be tempting to put road maintenance on the back burner once again. But funding to keep the commonwealth’s circulatory system in good repair should come off the top of every budget, not be relegated to whatever scraps are left over after every other agency and department has had their fill.
Failure to prioritize this core government responsibility, even during times of budget surpluses, is a bipartisan policy failure. McDonnell has a great opportunity to demonstrate his leadership ability by insisting that state lawmakers start looking beyond potholes this time.
