California can’t take its time rebuilding Interstate 10
Zachary Faria
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There is no reason California shouldn’t be able to repair and reopen Interstate 10 in Los Angeles in a timely matter, especially when other states have been able to finish similar projects quickly in the past two years.
California’s I-10 was damaged by a massive fire, the cause of which has been chalked up to arson. The freeway carries more than 300,000 people every day and is an important stretch of transportation in a city that already has its fair share of traffic woes. California officials have been hesitant to provide timelines, but Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) finally offered a time frame for the repair: approximately three to five weeks.
That is woefully inadequate. When a truck carrying gasoline flipped on Philadelphia’s I-95, leading to a massive fire and overpass collapse, Pennsylvania managed to rebuild it in 12 days. Florida managed to rebuild the Sanibel Causeway after Hurricane Ian in just 15 days. Florida also managed to build a temporary bridge to Pine Island after that same hurricane in just three days in order to provide aid and allow residents to begin returning home.
Building and maintaining roads is the most basic function of a state government. It is one California used as an excuse to hike the state’s gas tax once again last year. The state has even put up signs along roads to brag about the gas tax and the “work” it is helping accomplish on state roads. There is no reason Pennsylvania should be able to rebuild an overpass that collapsed in a fire in less than two weeks while California is looking at three to five weeks for I-10.
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That time frame is simply not good enough. It wouldn’t be good enough for any state, but it is especially insufficient for California, a state that has proved incompetent in just about every area of governance into which it has interjected itself. The state can’t build a high-speed rail, has struggled more than any other to keep the lights on, and can’t (or, more accurately, won’t) address homelessness or crime. If it can’t even rebuild a road in a timely fashion while gouging its residents with a high gas tax meant for fixing roads, what exactly is it California leaders do?
Whether Newsom is giving an accurate estimate or is simply trying to set expectations low, his time frame is not acceptable. There is no reason California’s government should be slower and less efficient than other states that have taken on such projects in recent years. This is another test of California leadership, and it is one they are already anticipating they will fail.