To the editor:

Our interstate system of roads was originally designed, engineered and built with American know-how, labor and materials, and there is no cause or reason to change that formula. It’s the American taxpayers’ dollars which will be spent for refurbishing our road system.

Our typical elected politicians are already beating the drums with thumped-up excuses to buy offshore while our economy languishes and the welfare rolls grow larger for lack of good-paying jobs. The president is for now tooting the “Made in America” horn, but that will only last until he survives re-election. Then the song changes. The overburdened taxpayers have heard this political music too many times.

The fuel tax funds initially were more than necessary to maintain the original interstate roads and then: a) Never adjusted to keep pace with inflation and b) Our elected politicians siphoned off the major portions of those funds for other “critical” purposes. A recap of these thefts is pointless as those funds can never be recovered.

As the major movement of freight moved from railroads, encouraged by the owners of the railroad system with excessive freight rates and trumpeted by the exploding trucking industry promoting door-to-door fast delivery of merchandise, the normal wear-and-tear usage accelerated in step far beyond expectations, so the conditions for collapse was foretold.

Consider that the European autobahn and rail systems are well-maintained and function together and the movement of merchandise easily meets their economy’s needs without the hazards of 80,000 pounds of a loaded truck tearing up our roads and jockeying for position with 2,000-pound cars.

John Richcreek, Seymour