Blog Catalog

Sunday, June 3, 2012

A desperate note to our representatives in Washington and Jefferson City

This "desperate note" goes out today to both our US senators--Roy Blunt and Claire McCaskill--and to every state and national representative whose districts cover Interstate 70, from St. Louis to Kansas City.

Here's the deal.

We need jobs.

We need more business.

We need a good, strong, working economy.

You know this. We know this.

We want it. We all agree.

What we don't necessarily agree on is how we get there.

What I'm proposing today is how we do that--how we get to a good, stronger, working, healthier economy.

The answer is suggested here, in this column from The New York Times (along with other posts here, from this blogger):

Repairing Roads Can End All Kinds of Gridlock

(It's a great article. You ought to check it out, if you can. Link at bottom).

And the heck of it is, we have the prime candidate to repair right here in our own state in our own I-70 from, again, St. Louis to Kansas City.


Let's be honest here, I70 is one narrow, dangerous, outdated, even deadly stretch of road, all across Missouri. It needs to be repaired and widened desperately. And as soon as possible.

Precious little is being done about it out of Missouri's state capitol right now, too. Nothing is to happen until next year, when they reconvene and even then, they will only be voting to begin a study on its improvements.

In the meantime, we're both going slower across the state and--worst of all--people are being killed due to the narrow, unsafe conditions. It's fact.

This would help the state both in jobs, in the shorter term, and better transportation, in the longer.

The benefits are many.

And not only would people here in Missouri benefit but every American and visitor who travels that road would benefit in safety and speed so it's not a totally state-selfish request here.

We need this. We need I70 widened and improved for all the right reasons.

It needs to happen sooner, rather than later.

People in Jefferson City and Washington should be making this happen.

Senators? Would you maybe take the lead here?

Please?

In return, I also propose that maybe we name I-70 from Columbia to St.Louis the "Senator Roy Blunt Memorial Highway" and from Columbia to Kansas City, the "Senator Claire McCaskill Memorial Highway."

But that's only if you work together on this.

As you should, anyway.

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/03/business/road-repairs-can-end-political-gridlock-economic-view.html?_r=1&ref=barackobama

No comments: