The weather can be especially brutal on roads when sub-zero, freezing weather makes cracks in the road, creating potholes that wreck cars – and in the worst case scenario: lives.
We don't need filthy #TarSands #KeystoneXL, we need a #HighwayBill to fix our crumbling #Infrastructure. pic.twitter.com/Lch6VWWi6L
— Annemarie Weers (@AnnemarieWeers) January 11, 2015
Law enforcement authorities say a pothole may have been the cause of a crash that killed a man and his young son last month in suburban Detroit. Pedro Montañez was driving his three children to school when he swerved into oncoming traffic and was broadsided by a pickup truck. Montañez and his nine-year-old son were killed, and his two other children were left in serious condition.
An eyewitness told police that it looked like Montañez either hit the nearly 2-inch deep pothole and swerved on an icy patch in the road, or swerved while trying to avoid the pothole and skidded into the truck. There were other potholes on that same road and driving conditions at the time of the accident were less than ideal.
This person hit a pothole and this happened. A pothole! And you think your city's infrastructure is crumbling? pic.twitter.com/MJJuikM1Fy
— steven wade (@eightdouble) February 26, 2014
“We’ve talked to witnesses. We’re looking at everything,” Undersheriff Michael McCabe told reporters. “There were two large potholes – one 13 feet long. It was also snowing at the time and the roads were snowy and ice-covered.”
Potholes are a constant problem in Michigan, and state official say they are already over budget on road maintenance, and it’s only January.
“It seems to be a never-ending job,” said James Logan of the Michigan Department of Transportation, in a video MDOT posted last year on YouTube. “We are continuously refilling the same holes,” he said, adding that it’s a job made harder with limited resources.
If you think South Africa has pothole issues check this out!! Its Michigan in the USA > > pic.twitter.com/lDjymEsCPz
— A-MoH™ WanubiProject (@amo_mpete) November 25, 2014
In his State of the State speech earlier this month and before this fatal accident, Governor Rick Snyder said that potholes are a real crisis in the state, and urged residents to support an increase in the sales tax to help pay for road repairs. Michigan residents will vote in a special election in May on that proposal.
Welcome to Michigan, where the pothole filling crews get stuck in potholes.. pic.twitter.com/9BQ6cpVOyB
— Matthew Bahri (@matthewbahri) March 29, 2014
Potholes are just one aspect of what critics say is a crumbling infrastructure across the United States, with aging roads and highways, bridges and waterways – and limited funds to fix them. President Obama touched on it in his State of the Union address, saying that just like Americans want and need good schools and jobs, they need strong bridges and good roads, and he urged Congress to take the issue seriously and pump more funds into fixing the country’s infrastructure. The country’s future depends on it, he concluded.
#Cincinnati bridge collapse is another example of US crumbling infrastructure http://t.co/RlT90vlp6Y pic.twitter.com/96YG9UU2zN
— Shane LaChance (@ShaneDLaChance) January 22, 2015
“Let’s pass a bipartisan infrastructure plan that could create more than thirty times as many jobs per year, and make this country stronger for decades to come,” he said.
The American Society of Civil Engineers issued a report card that rated the nation’s infrastructure, giving it a D+ and calling it a disaster in the making and one that needs a massive infusion of cash to fix everything, or about $3.6 trillion.
This could almost pay for fixing the crumbling infrastructure.. pic.twitter.com/GsQPTh62bu
— Thomas (@r201top) January 3, 2015
