The state of our city's streets

The spring thaw has brought with it countless potholes throughout Greater Grand Forks. City crews seem to be doing a fairly good job of working on the problem areas, but the current state of some streets in Grand Forks has got me to thinking. Why can't we get more streets in this city repaired before they get to the point where they are littered with potholes? The city has done a good job of reconstructing several major streets in the past decade (Washington Street and the intersection of Columbia Road/32nd Avenue South) and there have been new streets built like 42nd Street. Still, there are many areas in town that are in desperate need of work. I have seen the list of upcoming street projects that are slated for over the next few years and, while some of the problem areas are slated for reconstruction, other don't even appear on the list. Here are a few examples...

•North 42nd Street from University Avenue to Gateway Drive - I still don't understand why this stretch wasn't reconstructed when the rest of 42nd Street was put in a few years ago, but I have an even harder time understanding why there seems to be no effort to repair it now. This street is like a washboard. Whenever I drive down it, I feel like I'm in an old jalopy, even though I'm in a newish car that is usually very smooth.

•University Avenue overpass at I-29 - This roadway is so broken up (and so narrow and unprotected in the first place) that it really isn't even very safe. I know reconstructing overpasses is a very costly endeavor, but I can't think of an overpass that needs it more than this one.

•32nd Avenue from I-29 to Columbia Mall - This is our newest and fastest growing retail area, but the city appears to have no plans for rebuilding this broken up stretch of 32nd Avenue anytime soon. I think it is a shame to have all of these brand new buildings sitting on a very old, very broken up road.

I don't know why the city can't put more of an effort into repairing these and other problem areas in our city's infrastructure. Infrastructure - like streets and overpasses - are crucial to both quality of life and growth.

Any other problem areas you wish the city would take care of one of these days?