A state of disrepair

Posted 8/21/12

[The below letter was written to Leslie S. Richards, secretary of the PA Department of Transportation. See page 2 for related news brief.]

I live on Lackawaxen Road in Shohola Township, Pike …

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A state of disrepair

Posted

[The below letter was written to Leslie S. Richards, secretary of the PA Department of Transportation. See page 2 for related news brief.]

I live on Lackawaxen Road in Shohola Township, Pike County PA. (PennDOT District 4-0.) As withmany roads in our township, Lackawaxen Road is a state-owned by-way which runs roughly four miles from State Route 434 to State Route 590.

No doubt, Lackawaxen Road is among the 8,821 miles of state road pavement which PennDOT has rated as “poor,” yet it isn’t listed in PennDOT’s 12-year plan as a target for rehabilitation. Recently, I joined my neighbors and others on Lackawaxen Road to protest the atrociouscondition of our road by way of road signs and news articles. Traffic on our road is generally reduced to five to 10 mph because of road conditions. Moreover, the damage to vehicles is rising.

But, most important, the uncertain road conditions are a danger to travelers and a clear liability to the state. The PennDOT Customer Care Center (CCC) specifically directs citizens to register a “concern” with the CCC and defines a “concern” as “something that requires PennDOT attention for resolution such as potholes, drainage issues, or deer carcass removal.”

So, we have reported the potholes on Lackawaxen Road to PennDOT, but to no avail. Why direct us to register our “concerns” if PennDOT refuses to act on them? A number of Lackawaxen Road residents have contacted various officials within PennDOT, both at the county and state levels, by telephone and through the online CCC. We have been told that there is no money in the budget to repair the road.

At this time, we’re not asking for replacement of the road, which surely is needed. But, to deny basic repairs to a now-dangerous road based on budget constraints is unacceptable. I join my neighbors and others who regularly use Lackawaxen Road in urging you to direct the Pike County PennDOT operation to immediately repair the untenable pothole situation plaguing the road.

Shirley Masuo

Shohola, PA

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