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As staff writer Pat Kernan put it, you probably noticed some construction on the Sans Souci Parkway in the past week or so.

That’s the good news.

The horrible, awful, pothole-scarred road is finally getting a makeover. Even better, the work will only last until sometime in September, PennDOT officials confirmed.

The bad news?

It’s only an interim fix.

As regional PennDOT spokesman James May explained to Kernan, the $3.8 million project will have crews “mill off” just the top layer of pavement on the road, which will be replaced with new pavement.

The entire road is built on old concrete that is slowly becoming more damaged, which causes the continuing damage to the road, he said.

May candidly added that “what that road actually needs is a full, complete overhaul.”

As May Explained to the Times Leader for a special report on the Sans Souci back in April, the term for that is a full-depth reclamation — or FDR in PennDOT parlance — in which the road would be milled all the way down to the base and then repaved.

It’s not getting that right now, however.

Why not? Money, or lack thereof.

As May also explained back in April, it isn’t scheduled for such an overhaul until sometime in the early 2020s.

“There just isn’t money in the budget to do it,” May said then.

Props to May for being blunt.

As we have said many times, anyone who drives around Pennsylvania knows the condition of roads in this state can be downright deplorable, and the Sans Souci is just one of many examples in our area.

That brings us back to something we’ve talked a lot about lately: How do we bring the roads here and across the commonwealth to a better state of repair?

At the county level, officials here have only recently begun receiving revenue from a new $5 vehicle registration fee, which took effect Jan. 18, to generate an estimated $1.2 million to $1.4 million per year for road and bridge upkeep, not including a state match of up to $2 million the first year.

Our editorial board was divided about that issue when Luzerne County lawmakers were debating it. Our view remains that we want to see the money spent for roads and bridges and only roads and bridges.

Either way, it’s a good start toward tackling one part of the problem.

At the state level, we have expressed support for Gov. Tom Wolf’s Restore Pennsylvania initiative, which would levy a severance tax on natural gas production to generate about $300 million annually.

That money would be used to support floating a bond for some $4.5 billion, Yudichak said, which in turn would be spent on a wide range of infrastructure and land reclamation projects.

Pennsylvania has the fifth largest system of state-controlled highways in the nation, with more than 41,000 miles. It is going to take a massive influx of cash to put those roads and bridges into better repair. It is an investment that is essential to the financial well-being of this state, its businesses and residents, to keep drivers safe and keep the flow of commerce moving so Pennsylvania remains competitive.

So we believe Restore Pennsylvania is a worthwhile initiative, as we have previously explained in this space.

Drivers here and across the state will continue to feel the pain of every rut and pothole in the meanwhile.

— Times Leader

This view of the Sans Souci from April shows the condition of the road, which is now being repaired.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/web1_TTL041419SanSouci4.jpg.optimal.jpgThis view of the Sans Souci from April shows the condition of the road, which is now being repaired. Times Leader file photo