The George Report

Just say no to just saying no

By state Rep. Camille "Bud" George, D-74 of Clearfield County

We lost another bridge in the region last week. PennDOT closed the Route 53 Bridge over Clearfield Creek in Irvona after an inspection found deterioration of the 68-year-old span’s steel trusses.

Some around–the-clock repairs might enable one lane of the bridge to be reopened this week, but the closing still took a big bite – a 25-mile detour for the more than 4,400 vehicles that use the bridge daily. With gas at more than $3.50 a gallon, the closing caused quite a wallop to the wallet.

It’s  the second area bridge to be closed in recent months. The 116-year-old Dysart Bridge near Route 53 in northern Cambria County collapsed last December.

Late last year, PennDOT identified 217 bridges just in Clearfield County needing improvement or replacement. It’s apparent we either find a way to fund our roads and bridges -- and fast -- or we had better get used to broken bridges and expensive detours.

Well, it should be apparent. Yet, we still have those whose solution is just saying no.

An economic-development outfit from the area sent a letter to Washington, D.C., opposing the far-from-perfect plan to place tolls on Interstate 80. The letter never mentioned the group’s preferred way of coming up with a billion dollars a year to repair our roads and bridges.

A GOP lawmaker from Centre County wrote a commentary last month for the State College newspaper in which he ripped the I-80 toll plan as a "scheme."

What was his plan to rebuild roads and bridges? He didn’t give one.

 Does he want to raise fuel taxes on gas and diesel? He didn’t say, but I will – NO!

Is the nay-sayer backing steeply higher registration and licensing fees on every vehicle and every driver in the state? He conveniently failed to mention if he does.

Just saying no is not a solution, it’s the problem. Quivering in silence and ignorance when confronting problems such as our crumbling infrastructure is what got us in this mess in the first place.

We can’t let officials off the hook so easily. Many have said tolls on I-80 will lead to increased wear and tear on secondary roads. That would be tough to do if the bridges are collapsed and the roads broken.

One retail official laughed out loud when asked if his truck would resort to secondary roads to avoid tolls on I-80. "Nobody with a lick of sense would pay $100 more in fuel to save $50 in tolls," was his response.

After reports began circulating that the Wal-Mart Distribution Center in Woodland would close if I-80 is tolled, James C. Davis, senior manager/public affairs for Wal-Mart, wrote to me and said, "Under no circumstances would the tolling of Interstate 80 result in the relocation of our facility to a different location."

Little would give me more pleasure than seeing the I-80 toll plan scrapped but not by jeopardizing the health and safety of citizens. No painless or perfect plan will ever exist, but it is the height of irresponsibility to just say no to tolls on I-80 without offering a viable alternative.

In the 1960s, I recall seeing a poster that said, "People are lonely because they build walls instead of bridges."

We need to build bridges and repair roads – quickly – or it’s going to get mighty lonely, dangerous and expensive in Pennsylvania.

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