Recent severe rainstorms exacerbate problems related to summer closure of highway depots
St John's, NL (20 April 2006) - Carol Furlong, president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees (NAPE/NUPGE), says damaged highways and road closures caused by recent severe rainstorms are related to a decision last summer to close a number of highway depots in the province.
"Much of the damage caused by the rain could have been prevented," Furlong said this week.
NAPE has repeatedly warned that the province's highways are being threatened by a lack of preventative maintenance caused by the closure of the highway depots in the summer months.
"A lot of the damage caused by the rain can be traced back to a lack of maintenance because depots were closed last year," Furlong says.
"We now see places where shoulders are washed away, pavement is broken up and there is flooding because layoffs meant proper maintenance wasn't carried out. This is a prime reason to ensure that highway workers are on the job all year round."
It was recently learned that the Williams government is closing 13 highway depots and has issued layoff notices to 125 highway workers. This policy of closing depots for the summer began last year.
It is predicted that the lack of proper maintenance will lead to major problems and will cost the public more money in the long run. The government will have to spend millions of dollars in repairs that might not have been necessary had proper maintenance been carried out, NAPE argues.
Furlong is calling on the Conservative government of Premier Danny Williams to rescind the decision and keep the highway depots open. NUPGE
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
Twitter
Google
