I live in a rural community that isn’t really cared about by the rest of the county and the state as well.
We don’t have priority for infrastructure improvements or repairs, leaving us with crumbling buildings and roads with cracks and potholes.
Any money that is available for public service projects is given to the richer communities that present a better image of the state to outside travelers and tourists. They know that focusing their money on the places that attract the most tourism will give them an immediate return on their investment. On one hand, I can see the logic in it if you are focused purely on the financial angle and them being self-interested about how that money is spent. Still, I think that we pay taxes just like anyone else and deserve a small portion of the money that is spent on infrastructure in this whole state. While not all of the roads in this state are made with reinforced concrete, or even need it in the first place—it definitely shows in our community what cheap road building creates just a decade or two after the road is created. The concrete and asphalt roads around here are full of cracks and potholes. If rebar reinforced concrete had been used on some of these roads, the cracks wouldn’t have spread so quickly like they have. However, states often see these as unnecessary expenses. Some will argue that the only roads that need rebar reinforced concrete are things like airport runways or bridges. And in the case of the latter, you’d want to go one step further and use corrosion resistant rebar tie wire like galvanized steel or stainless steel rebar and double loop ties.