My sister and I visited our aunt in Springfield, W.Va., last weekend and heard all about the Oldtown Bridge fare change.
It was really funny to hear about people planning to take alternate routes under protest. To go from Springfield to Oldtown via Cumberland is a 22-mile detour, costing over $3 in fuel for the average car (24 mpg), over $10 in overall vehicle costs (at federal reimbursement rates) and at least 30 minutes if you obey speed limits.
Even at minimum wage, the wasted time is much more than twice the cost of the bridge toll. For someone in Green Spring to do that in protest is even sillier.
Detour or not, these folks should drive straight to the community college for some math or personal finance classes!
Better, these protesters should instead put their energy in getting support from Mike McKay, Creade Brodie, Bill Valentine, Martin O’Malley, Kevin Kelley, George Edwards, Ruth Rowan, Shelley Capito, Barbara Mikulski, Ben Cardin, and John Delaney in getting not only a better bridge, but better roads between Oldtown and Flintstone and Orleans.
Orleans Road is gravel and completely dark, and Cresap Mill Road and Town Creek Road are both scary and make passengers car-sick. Many places are not wide enough to paint a yellow line in the middle, and driving at night is scarier.
Not only would they provide a safer route to east-bound Interstate 68, but there could be even more recreation and gambling revenue at Rocky Gap.
Of course, increased traffic would also be good for current and new businesses in Green Spring, and Oldtown, and residents there could commute more efficiently to Hancock and Hagerstown.
I know we’d visit our sweet aunt twice as often! And our elected leaders would be heroes!
Let’s make this project shovel-ready and stop the bickering.
Melody Daniels
Chaneysville, Pa.
Opinion
Devote your energy to get support for a better bridge
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