In the last year of Gov. Martin O'Malley's administration, just after the gasoline tax was raised, it was obvious to all that funds for road repairs had been cut drastically. So it is no surprise that whenever you find yourself on a road with pot holes you can expect to see signs saying it is maintained by the Maryland State Highway Administration.
Most of the time, the roads in need of serious repair are state roads. Even driving along an interstate highway you can find nasty holes when you least expect them, frequently in the right lanes, and particularly in the strip where the lanes meet. Motorists avoiding chuck holes must cause quite a few accidents.
Then there are the roads that desperately need resurfacing. Some of those roads in Maryland are in the worst shape that I have ever seen. A case in point is Maple Road in Linthicum. I have lived in Linthicum for 40-plus years, and I have never seen that road in such bad shape as it is today. On I-295, the side of the right lane is continuous pot holes. On I-97, I have been avoiding the same chuck hole in the middle lane for months. I could go on.
Additionally, I had a recently installed new GM shock absorber break. The repair shop owner says it is the lack it road repairs that caused this problem.
State Highway Administration, please fix the roads so that the motorists get something for the higher gasoline taxes that we are all now paying and for the tax increase that is on the way.
Dave Lotz, Linthicum