Questions to Consider
- In her writer’s reflection, Meyer explains that originally focused her solution on road repairs before shifting to investigate the allocation of funds. In what ways does researching a long-term solution to the problem anticipate counterarguments and strengthen her argument?
- How does Meyer consider the multiple contexts that are impacting this issue? How does this factor into how she is explaining the issue, introducing evidence, and proposing a solution?
- Meyer draws a lot of evidence from her sources. What writing strategies does she use to integrate the source information into her argument while maintaining clear explanations and her own voice?
The Problem of Potholes
After three months without being fixed, a Missouri resident decided to do the only thing he could do: throw a birthday party for a small hole in a broken patch of pavement (Lam). This celebration caused that pothole to be filled within the days following, which truly brings the question of what exactly determines when a road should be repaired. Potholes are nothing unique, especially with how widespread they stretch. However, in much smaller communities, the growing concern about healthy roads stretches deeper than an occasional bump in the road. Many steps are taken in order to minimize this damage, but the real question boils down to what the root cause is and what can be done in an effort to formulate a long-lasting solution, especially before already concerning situations grow worse. In these local communities, road conditions are abysmal with little work done in an effort to improve them. In an effort to improve these conditions, local governments need to focus on a new approach of reallocating the funding and attention from major construction projects to road repairs.
Potholes cause nearly 15 percent of drivers to need a repair on their vehicles with the yearly average being around 3 billion dollars just in the United States, all caused by damage in the road that otherwise can be avoided (Vigderman). With such an issue reaching a point where the national government has to provide each state millions of dollars just to repair existing damage, there needs to be some step taken, especially in more rural areas that simply don’t receive as much attention as interstate highways. However, regardless of which roads do and do not get funding, our focus should instead be shifted onto what exactly causes that damage. While ordinary usage does play a part, a key factor is the weather, specifically what is called a “freeze-thaw cycle.” These cycles occur as water gets into cracks in the road and freezes, expanding and worsening them. Although frequent in cold climates, they are far more numerous in the midwest as a result of the constant fluctuations of temperatures in and out of freezing temperatures (Newman). The incoming seasons reflect these conditions and thus reflect the dire necessity for a solution. In cases of frequent rainfall followed by freezing temperatures, damage only gets worse when left unresolved. With global warming still a prominent issue alongside already existing weather patterns, areas beyond those already experiencing the worst of these cycles will receive the perfect setup for their own series of deterioration.
Arnold, in particular, has a unique perspective on this issue. With no lack of problematic roads, this issue is a clear focal point of agitation among those who live in the area. When polling the local community, nearly 90% claimed that their greatest agitation was “potholes and crumbling pavement” (Vasan). Even with such a concern rampant among the county, it is worsened by the constant local construction. From complete road closure to narrow lanes, these conditions emphasize the poorer road conditions with the forced greater travel and inevitable congestion. These same construction projects—more specifically, those that might not have been started—can influence a solution.
With the slowly increasing number of major construction projects that range in multi- millions of dollars to fund, St. Louis had to cut 26.6 million dollars because the city can’t fund that money (Spectrum News). The real question goes into just how important those projects are in comparison to road repair. Specific examples would be projects that are set along I-70 where attention is placed on updating signs and signals in an effort to keep them up to snuff with current regulations; while important to update, these types of issues cause drastically fewer issues than rougher road conditions that cost each driver hundreds if not thousands of dollars in repairs (Vigderman). My point is that there is a link between the vast amount of money that must be dropped for projects and the issues that are not being prioritized as they should.
When it comes to what is currently being done in an effort to help improve conditions on the road, there is the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that, according to the official fact sheet released by The White House, in part focuses on repairing major roadways and bridges in poorer conditions, placing attention on future effects of climate change. This Act specifies that “the federal government is spending $1.57 million per mile to repair highways in poor conditions” (Vigderman). There’s no written confirmation on what is being done for back roads, leading to the assumption that they’ve been completely cast aside. Although Missouri is funding larger projects in an effort to minimize as much of the damage as possible, they lack attention on smaller, less traveled roads that cause drastically more trouble on a local level.
The process of greatly decreasing the disrepair of roads can be boiled down to a two-step system: recognition and categorization into reallocation. One of the leading questions for such a problem is where to start; assuming that every road has some length of damage, there is no definite place to start, especially when going off of personal judgment. The answer relies on taking a specific approach to figuring out what roads are in the worst condition. Today, there are a variety of methods used to determine and document the status of the roads, which are further analyzed in a study conducted to specifically determine which of them could be the most effective. Their proposed system oriented around real-time identification proved the most successful with 97.4% accuracy (R. Sathya et al.), thus leading to the confidence that such methods can prove a successful alternative to manual detection and classification. These methods aid in determining what areas are of the highest priority and ease decisions of what area should be focused on first with numerical evidence that “removes subjectivity from humans” (Lang et al.), leading to more appropriate treatment and execution of reliable repairs (Paplauskas et al.) With this knowledge and confidence in which roads specifically are worse off than others in a smaller radius, the sole focus can be placed on those before tackling what is better off in comparison.
When it comes to reallocation, a lot can be said about what does and doesn’t need to be funded with various arguments about priorities that change from person to person, all boiling down to personal location and daily travel. However, with road security, those complications are less fuzzy, especially in Missouri. Currently, there are millions of dollars in reconstruction plans curated across the state with a majority focused on “resurfacing” major roadways (MoDOT). By resurfacing, these roads are receiving a patchwork system of repair through the addition of a layer to already existing asphalt. This method is understandable and certainly can improve existing conditions of the roads, but does nothing for roads in more rural areas that go untouched for months to years simply because there isn’t enough money for them. By reallocating funds from major projects deemed not as important for roads in manageable conditions or those that are more for quality-of-life, those less maintained roads can, at the very least, be improved to prevent the substantial damage they have caused to those that traverse across them on a daily basis.
These are big steps to take where a lot rests in the hands of those above us. However, that does not mean there is nothing we can do. Although temporary, minor improvements can be made until more concrete steps are taken. By contacting local officials on more concerning parts of a road, there is a greater chance that something will be done–as shown by Fox News, who themselves contacted officials after interviewing locals and witnessed repair results only a couple days afterward. This method of communication can provide a temporary fix and, with enough “encouragement” from those impacted most, more will eventually be accomplished.
The lack of confidence drivers have in roads they travel daily leads to significant problems to those who prioritize it most. From commutes to and from work in some cases doubling (Vasan) to general fear of having to pay for damage that is preventable, there’s a reason why something has to be done. For businesses located along roads in poor conditions, their source of income is impacted because of drivers actively avoiding those areas. The local and statewide governments have a responsibility to keep all roads manageable and safe to drive on. By having some sort of area to begin, greater satisfaction can be achieved for all parties.
With reallocation acting as a hypothetical solution, there is doubt that it would be far too difficult to pull off and promote to such a degree that it solves the problem completely. However, such tactics have been used beforehand with great success as a result of shifted priorities. In a specific example, Colorado’s Department of Transportation released a statement on the official reallocation of unspent funding collected through an annual process, all of it moved to focus on “statewide maintenance and safety improvements.” This package was over 140 million dollars for repairs, proving that such an accomplishment is possible, especially since this example is far broader than the intended fix for Missouri. All things considered, it is possible, but the circumstances are understandably complex; Missouri needs an approach that is catered specifically to the circumstances at hand, understandably leading to questions on how other cities or states can enact the same process. As is shown in Colorado’s report, it can happen, just with minor adjustments throughout the process.
With a way to begin such a process, the rest is left to the discretion of the state. The step of actually fixing the roads can be taken as the first and overall “solution,” as it is the easiest to do with the least amount of steps. However, this is short term—it may add a few years to the lifespan, but the cycle would only be repeated. Tackling the problem on its surface can lead to being far more expensive than sifting for the root cause and can result in numerous repairs that equal or increase the cost for a more rational and more in depth approach. The bottom line of the problem is the funding: without taking that into consideration and putting deeper thought towards how such a complication can help fix a small issue on a bigger scale, little will be done to efficiently solve it.
Arnold has a very specific situation with poor road conditions that has a very specific solution. However, that does not mean it is exclusive; globally, poor road conditions are a never-ending issue that only causes increasing damage physically, mentally, and financially. The price we all have to pay will only increase without action. Although complicated, reallocation is just the foundation that can be strengthened with our own action. By taking those first steps and doing what we can to influence through contacting our local officials, we, too, can repave the future of road repair and create our own roads that completely eradicate such disarray from returning to its current condition.
Works Cited
Davis, Elliott, and Kevin S. Held. “St. Louis County Residents Frustrated with Poor Road Conditions.” FOX 2, FOX 2, 3 Feb. 2023, fox2now.com/news/missouri/st-louis-county-residents-frustrated-with-poor-road-conditions/.
MoDOT. “Projects.” Projects | Missouri Department of Transportation, 2022, www.modot.org/search/projects.
Newman, Katelyn. “U.S. Cities Have a Pothole Problem. Global Warming Is Making It Worse.” Usnews.Com, 22 July 2019, www.usnews.com/news/cities/articles/2019-07-22/us-cities-have-a-pothole-problem-global-warming-is-making-it-worse.
Paplauskas, Paulius, et al. “ROAD PAVEMENT CONDITION INDEX DETERIORATION MODEL FOR NETWORK-LEVEL ANALYSIS OF NATIONAL ROAD NETWORK BASED ON PAVEMENT CONDITION SCANNING DATA.” Eds.s.Ebscohost.Com, 2023, eds.s.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=5&sid=7ada4817-c3c4-4719-a54b-40639207f0a7%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#AN=172904402&db=edo.
Sathya, B. Saleena and N. N. Anirudh, “An Analytical Study of Various Pothole Detection and Prevention Techniques,” 2023 IEEE International Students’ Conference on Electrical, Electronics and Computer Science (SCEECS), Bhopal, India, 2023, pp. 1-7, doi: 10.1109/SCEECS57921.2023.10063088.
Spectrum News. “St. Louis County Cancels $26.6M in Road Projects after Costs up 70%.” St. Louis County Cuts $26.6M in Road Projects, 19 Apr. 2023, spectrumlocalnews.com/mo/st-louis/news/2023/04/19/st–louis-county-cancels–26-6m-in-road-projects-after-costs-up-70-.
The White House. “Fact Sheet: The Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal.” The White House, The United States Government, 6 Nov. 2021, www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/11/06/fact-sheet-the-bipartisan-infrastructure-deal/.
Vasan, Paula, and Jennifer Sommers. “What’s the worst road in the St. Louis area? Here’s what viewers have to say.” KSDK, 27 Apr. 2023, https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/investigations/st-louis-area-worst-roads-potholes-street-safety/63-a67e3cfe-4218-489f-9475-3954646742ff.
Vigderman, Aliza. “The State of Potholes in the U.S.” Autoinsurance.Com, 19 Oct. 2022, www.autoinsurance.com/research/pothole-damage/. Accessed 21 Nov. 2023.
Yang, Lu, et al. “Road Damage Detection and Classification Based on Multiscale Contextual Features.” Ieeexplore.Ieee.Org, 26 Jan. 2022, ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10020277/.
Writer’s Reflection
Dear reader,
The process of this writing assignment was certainly unique compared to previous assignments I’ve done. This time around, a lot more drafting and re-working was needed just to make absolutely sure that my organization was cohesive, I managed to get the point I’ve been working towards across, and that the information I provided aided in supporting my argument. I did a lot more testing with writing without working as I went, which I certainly feel helped in forming my paper as it allowed me to get everything down without worry that I might forget something while going back and forth editing as I write. Initially, my proposed solution was very bland; rather than thinking deeper about the issue, I instead focused on just a method of road repair, which when researching and formulating my argument, just didn’t feel as concrete as it should have. After changing my focus especially after more research, I had a lot more confidence in my argument and the solution. Getting feedback throughout my writing process helped me substantially with my organization as well as supporting me with the conviction behind my argument.
The biggest challenge I faced was finding a good place to actually start with my argument. I felt pretty confident with my topic choice and definitely spent the necessary time making sure I understood it to capacity, but having a confident idea of how to suggest a solution was where I had paused. To fix that, I turned my attention to my community specifically and what troubles went deeper that could have played a hand in the issue I was researching. Once I grew more aware of the more financial side of the topic, that is when I knew what potential solution I wanted to argue.
When I think about coming back to this project, I feel as though what could need the most improvement is the more technical side of my writing; I do feel like the content itself addresses the topic and argument well enough, but I feel as though with more time and distance away I can better improve formatting and the like. Throughout the times I’ve spent researching for an assignment, I felt as though I was aware enough of how to navigate to more credible sources and not picking and choosing what comes easiest. However, with this project, I feel as though I have a far deeper and more complex understanding of what to look for when researching with understanding a specific topic or viewpoint, especially when it comes to sources that are found just off of an internet search. I now feel more aware of all sides to an argument and will spend more time truly grasping that idea before moving onto something else. When it comes to argumentation, I also feel more confident in how exactly to formulate what I want to get across to make it seem less flat as well as supporting my ability to use rhetorical terms through application instead of strict definition. Overall, this project in particular is not one completely unique to itself; there will be more encounters with argumentative formats, and using this as a base and a learning experience to go off of will help me slowly improve my ability to argue a solution or perspective.
Sincerely,
Olivia M.