All my friends and some who don't really like me, know that I travel Highway 76 between Blanchard and Lindsay frequently. The stretch of roadway between Dibble and Lindsay was once one of the worst road surfaces in Oklahoma, but the Oklahoma Department of Transportation repaired or widened several miles of it over the last two years. The first two miles north out of Lindsay was repaired and widened, and the first three or four miles south out of Dibble was resurfaced.. but not widened. Unfortunately, the most dangerous section of roadway starting about three miles north of Lindsay and running about four or five miles, hasn't been touched in over forty years. It's the stretch where most fatal accidents have occurred over the years, because of its winding curves and narrow lanes. In addition, the shoulders of both lanes drop off abruptly, as much as one foot in some places - which has been the cause of many accidents.
Since I drive that stretch of HW 76 quite often, I felt obligated to be present at a meeting between the users of that road, an ODOT official, and the local state Representative at that time (2015). Since several Lindsay High School students and former students had been the victims of the sorry excuse for a road, a retired Lindsay school superintendent had arranged the "hearing". Each speaker had been negatively affected by the neglected stretch of road, some more than others, but all inquired about planned repairs and improvements. Many attendees wondered why "their tax dollars" weren't being used by ODOT to repair the highway they use most often. I wondered the same thing. Since the state Rep. present was sympathetic to her constituents plight, she answered many questions regarding this issue. The ODOT official stated that many repairs and improvements were planned for this highway, and laid out the timeline for completing the projects. In answer to one question about appropriate funding for completion of the projects, he said that "funding cuts" to ODOT would certainly limit completion of the projects. How right he was. Someone asked the District Rep if assistance to ODOT could be provided by the legislature. Obvious to everyone is the fact that our legislature provides financial support to all state service agencies, including ODOT, to provide essential services for Oklahomans. Our state Rep was asked if funding could be directed to these HW 76 projects - to which she replied "Certainly not, it is illegal for a legislator to direct funding toward specific projects." She is correct, and it is also illegal to "direct ODOT" to direct repairs and improvements to any specific road. The appropriate question for the Rep. should have been - Can you sponsor a bill which legalizes your office to direct "road improvement" funds to roads in our district (Garvin and McClain County)? We could call it "Road Choice" for Oklahoma tax payers, and you could direct public ODOT funds to Highway 76 between Lindsay and Dibble. After all, our tax dollars should go to improvements on roads that we use. You could model the "road choice" bill on all the "school choice" bills you've supported, because we know you believe in "directing public tax dollars" to corporate and private schools.
The district 42 Rep is no longer the same one that appeared in 2015, but we could always ask the new Rep., Tim Downing, if he could sponsor such a bill - to legalize the direction of public funding to his choice of roads, both public and private... After all,we pay taxes to have our roads repaired, so we should be able to use "our" tax dollars to repair "our" roads. Downing is a self-avowed fan of legalizing the "directing of public school funds to the corporate and private schools of his choice" and he supports the directing of county improvement for roads and bridges (CIRB) funding to help fill the state budget gap (which he helped create). I think it may be worth asking if he supports "road choice" just as he does "school choice".
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