Hey Bangor…. Banged Up Roads Are Costing You $1500 A Year.
If there is absolutely on thing in the universe that transcends race, creed, politics... even flat-Earthers will agree that bad roads are the absolute frikkin' worst. Pot holes, rough spots, bumpy frost heaves, all of it is just hogwash. Every single one of the aforementioned groups of people will all utter the same swear words on crap roads.
But according to Fox ABC Maine, here in Bangor, rough roads are costing us Bangorians $1500 a year on average. Now, don't get me wrong, that doesn't mean all of us are shelling out $1500 every year, directly out of our bank accounts to keep our cars on the road. However, it quantifies what each person in Bangor contributes.
Bad fuel economy, car accidents, and the like cost the average driver big money. Maintaining the roads isn't what it used to be either. Bangor has had to pivot more toward patching things together as opposed to being able to actually fix some of the problems. Add all these things up, and we're all throwing money out the window.
And naturally, other extenuating factors, like COVID-19 and all it's travel restrictions, mean less revenue from fuel sales. You all know how government works: no taxes = no money. that's just the world we live in. So if the city or state doesn't have the resources, we don't get the shiny new roads.
Time will only tell how it all shakes out. There's only so many ways to generate revenue, and nobody reeeeally wants to hear anything about raising taxes right now. So for the time being, it seems maybe the best option is to tuck away your pennies where you can, put your seat belt on, and get ready for a wild ride on our Mad Max fury roads.