Local Officials Give JFC an Earful
Local officials are giving the committee an earful on the delays to the expansion of US Hwy. 51. They say the situation is life-threatening and are frustrated the expansion of the highway to four lanes has been put off.
Alan Harvey, chairman of the Town of Windsor, said the expansion project had been at the top of the DOT's minor project list, but was moved to a major project and put at the bottom of the list. The highway is seriously over capacity, and motorists are "seriously placing our lives at risk" on the roadway.
"We are playing Russian roulette with our loved ones," Harvey said.
He said the project is in a "bureaucratic quagmire," and expansion has been delayed until 2025 or 2030.
In other testimony, the committee is hearing support for the proposed $1.25 per pack increase in cigarettes, and against the proposed 1 percent assessment on hospitals and the "raid" of funds from the patient compensation fund.
Labels: Arlington_Meeting, Joint Committee on Finance, Transportation
