Roads so bad in Trenton, equipment to fix them is busted
A previous column mentioned a portion of Perry St. near the Trentonian back entrance that needed immediate attention.
So, imagine the joy connected to seeing “The Patcher”, a oneman operated pothole fixing machine ready to take on every hole and groove on this rugged stretch of roadway.
However, the machine just sat there with its hazard emergency lights flashing. Uh, oh. This scene did not look good, especially when the city employee delivered a palms up signal, a universal sign that there’s problems.
Sure enough, he rolled down his window and said that the patching material that should pour out of the hose that resembles an elephant’s trunk would not dispense.
Trenton, allegedly hampered by an employee’s clerical error which may result in the city losing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the state’s Transportation Trust Fund, faces citywide road deterioration not seen in decades.
This city needs all hands and machines on deck but if yesterday’s problems serves as a sign, roadways may get a lot worse before showing improvement.
Meanwhile, a road patching crew worked on Gladstone Ave. in the city’s East Ward without tamping down patch that filled numerous holes.
A worker informed a resident that the patch served as an easy fix for a major problem, lamenting that the street needs a complete replacement.
Future weather looks menacing as meteorologists predict warm weather for Tuesday and Wednesday followed by rain, conditions that along with traffic, impacts the destruction of asphalt roadways.
L.A. Parker is a Trentonian columnist. Reach him at laparker@trentonian.com.