Gov Wolf proposes to eliminate gas tax

[modrepub]

4. More Weight, More Damage

Heavier vehicles are harder on roads than lighter ones. Milage and weight would have to be considered. A motorcycle doesn't cause as much damage as a dump truck.

We had that issue with township roads being used as short cuts leading to damage on local roads they were not supposed to be on. My township has no police force but the truck source was identified (local quarry) and the owners were made aware that their truck drivers were taking short cuts on roads they weren't supposed to be on. After awhile, the quarry owners got their drivers to stay on the state roads and off of the local township roads. You have to be proactive and start making a stink at your local township meeting or sending letters and IDing the culprits. A lot of time that's enough to get people to cooperate and follow the rules.

The whole road system needs radical reform. Building highways for "economic development" is something that should be frowned upon. In the end those roads soak up maintenance money that could be used for road systems that are more used. By building rural interstates like I-99 and the US 322 corridor (just to handle penn state football traffic 6-7 times a year), we've added more road milage to a road system we can't already maintain. Other states like VA had put a halt to all new road construction. Politicians love directing money to their own road systems or upgrading their local roads. Of course new roads add to the maintenance costs for a system that is already underfunded.