Reverse Legislation Allowing Longer Trucks On Route 2!!

I think all Islanders should be severely disappointed with the recent passage of legislation allowing larger tractor trailers to now use Route 2 through the islands. First, who had the idea to use Grand Isle County as a means for large trucks to bypass the weigh stations north on I-89? Did this start from the governor, his staff, or a legislator? Secondly who felt that it should not be made public to the residents of Grand Isle County before it made it into legislation? Thirdly was there any debate of this issue before passage of this legislation?

An extra seven feet on a trailer may not seem like a big deal, but it is. That is extra weight and storage space. Depending on the load being transported, seven extra feet can be a lot more weight bearing down on Route 2. It’s not in that great of shape right now, and more, larger, heavier trucks will only lead to more deteriorated conditions. Did the state allocate more money and time to be spent maintaining Route 2 as a result of this bill’s passage?

Route 2 through the Islands has very narrow shoulders and many chokepoints where it is the only north and south road connecting the towns together. Can you imagine an accident on the Sandbar, Drawbridge, Birdland, or North Hero/Alburg bridge blocking traffic for hours upon hours for cleanup and container transfer? Or having to backtrack around St. Albans to get home or to work by the interstate? Even worse, in summers with the high traffic volumes and use of the sides of the road by bicyclists, pedestrians, horseriders, or fishermen, this is an almost certain recipe for human roadkill. Did the state budget for more money for local responders and law enforcement as a result of this bills passage, or does the burden fall on our shoulders?

Then there’s the amount of extra space that these trailers will have to transport materials. Not really a big deal if god forbid an accident does occur and an extra seven feet of baby diapers goes flying all over Route 2 right? But what if instead it’s hazardous materials, even as seemingly benign as fluorescent light bulbs being transported? Thats an extra seven feet of mercury phosphate powder and broken bulbs that our volunteer emergency personnel will be exposed too, have to work around, and potentially get into Lake Champlain as contaminants. What if something worse is being transported?

We should all be severely disappointed that this legislation made it past, or was snuck by Representatives Johnson, Trombley, and Senator Mazza. This is the very kind of thing we send them to Montpelier to watch out for and keep us informed about. I hope for their future careers as representatives of our Islands community, they did not know about this beforehand. I encourage all Grand Isle County residents to contact their representation and the Governor, and demand that they immediately begin working to reverse this legislation, and make it their priority for the 2010 legislative session. If they continue to fail Grand Isle County, remember in November.