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

[klytus.livejournal.com]

All the more reason to avoid I-95 in the first place.

[silvrwillow.livejournal.com]

Thus proving (once again even moreso) that the people who make these stupid decisions don't live in this reality or drive on their own roads - if they really believe that it only takes about 2 hours to get from Richmond to Washington.

[faeriquene.livejournal.com]

Even at 60 mph, 29 miles = 29 minutes, which is already an awfully long time to wait when you've gotta go. Especially when you realize *just* as you're passing one rest stop that you should have stopped.

I suppose ticketing the people who couldn't wait and decided to water bushes on the side of the road will also help with that revenue thing...

[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.