How well do you know your roads?
If you’ve driven around Massachusetts lately, you may have noticed the potholes problem. These road craters are more than just a bump in the road. They are real headaches for the drivers when they have to fix damage on their vehicle.
We are a group of high school students doing a project on the issues with the roads in Massachusetts. From some of our research, we have learned that the roads in Massachusetts aren’t the most dangerous, but some still do make people feel unsafe.
When we started researching, we discovered that weather had a big impact on the roads. The freeze and thaw cycle causes potholes to form and get worse over time. We also learned our governor, Maura Healey, is putting $8 billion into our roads over 10 years.
We did a survey that showed people’s opinions about the road conditions. We found that most people tend to drive SUVs and drive every day or almost every day. From the survey we sent out, 90 percent of people said that potholes were a big issue. More people felt safer driving in calm weather than in rainy/wintry weather. More money and using solar panels on roads were suggestions from our survey.
Out of the $8 billion going towards the roads, it’s mainly going to everything else like the MBTA, bridges, etc. Only a tiny sliver of it is going to roads. Something the government could do is to give more money, especially for neglected areas. For ordinary people, try to avoid driving if you can.
Did you know that there is a number to call or a form to fill out online? Did you know about the pothole hotline? Because we didn’t. MassDOT Pothole Hotline: Report a pothole at (857) 368-4636.
– Cam Ieronimo, Joslyn Bernier, Andrei Soukhanov, Ryan Sullivan, Jarred Lima, Cyrus Aguiar, Destiny Vincent
The authors are members of the civics group at the Map Academy Charter School in Plymouth. Their teacher is Catherine Collins.