I moved here from Howard county seven years ago. Howard County (Kokomo area) formerly had lots of issues with road repairs. New council folks and a new manager changed things for the better. The planning for road repairing was changed and now the county has excellent roads.

I am quite disappointed in this county’s planning and use of money for road repairs and so many of the well-traveled county roads are simply like the moon with craters that have to be filled year after year. My questions are why the most traveled roads are not given the priority rather than dividing the county into four equal sections and splitting the budget four ways and why more chip and seal is not done on the roads.

Chip and seal according to my research costs an average of $15,000 a mile while paving is an average of $200,000 a mile. I understand the county has it’s own paving and does a nice job when it does pave roads but getting to the roads that need it is simply lacking.

My suggestion is for the county managers to take a look at other counties in Indiana that have the best process and planning for road repair and learn from them. In any case, changes to the planning seem to be needed here.

Submitted by Steve Matthews