Someone asked why the project is not a state priority and whether I have done anything about it. There are two false assumptions there.

• One – Literally ripping a stretch of state highway right down to the road base is not an overnight project, and is a priority job
• Two – Since I am not a keyboard warrior, I don’t post rants every day. I have been busy working on the problems. Social media activity does not equal actually doing anything.

I have been in contact with NHDOT at least weekly throughout. The challenge has been that to excavate that close to the railroad tracks required both the agreement of the railroad, and the approval of USDOT. The actual underlying roadbed is what became stabilized, and the road continued to shift position over a week after the initial damage. A quick fix was simply not possible.

I sent video of the route the school bus will have to take, and sent information about the accidents and near misses that I was aware of. None of this impacted the counter position that we can not endanger the safety of the railroad. 

I have a son in the high school and who is also a brand new driver. He has gone off the road once on his way to school. I am as impacted as anyone personally, and perhaps more so than those without children traveling this route. There has not been a single week where I have not applied as much pressure as I could. This does not counteract engineering concerns though.

Fixing this is a priority for the state. We got agreement on funding it almost immediately. Calling it a priority does not change the engineering and approval process.