Drive on 95? Hold it or go buy something...

[acroyear]

Virginia Set to Close 18 Rest Stops - washingtonpost.com:

Virginia's major roadways will become a less hospitable place in two weeks when the cash-strapped state closes 18 rest stops, including those in Dale City and Ladysmith.

The closings will leave the long stretch of I-95 between Richmond and Washington without a public toilet for northbound drivers. This is a portion of highway that can be measured in miles -- 105.99 miles, to be precise -- but cognoscenti of traffic mayhem generally prefer to use a watch. On a bad day it can take hours of crawling, and as of July 21 northbound drivers will not have a rest stop to, well, rest in, or whatever else they may need to do.

"We looked at the distance between our rest stops and found we had them as close as 29 miles," said Jeffrey Caldwell, spokesman for the Virginia Department of Transportation. "We decided we'd shoot for about 120 miles, or about two hours, between rest stops."

This will save the state agency $9 million against its $2.6 billion revenue shortfall.

I know they say every little bit helps, but this is ridiculous...

on the other hand, by forcing people to do the "guilt" thing and have to buy something at the zillions of fast food joints along that same stretch in order go, that'll increase the tax revenues some.

Comments

[voltbang.livejournal.com]

On what planet can you travel 120 miles on 95 north in 120 minutes? You would have to be going, umm, 2 and 4, carry the 1, hmm, 60 mph to go that far that fast. That's just not possible. Madness I say!


I would like to see Jeffrey Calwell, spokesman for the Virginia Department of Transportation, drive 120 miles on 95 north in two hours. I dare him. I double dare him.