Whistling in the Wind

Did you ever try whistling in the wind? A whistle doesn’t go far in windy conditions and I’m sure my whistling won’t either, this morning, but this is my viewpoint on the plan for a proposed new part of Highway 82 in northeast Oklahoma: it stinks! 

Hwy. 82 is a dangerous road; most highways are. I suppose Oklahoma got a new highway grant? I don’t know, but, somehow, there’s money to do a serious job of trying to make the highway safer. There were several ideas about how to do this. One was to add a couple of more lanes to the existing highway. Another was to make a completely new road through farms, ponds, creeks, and meadowlands to create a straighter stretch.  The state chose the second option.

A lovely, spring-fed pond that I’ve admired since I was a child will now be desecrated–that new road will go right through it. Woodland where deer and other wildlife live will be mowed down, ancient trees cut. Where will the animals go? Farms will be severed in two pieces, one parcel of land on one side, the other  across the new highway.

So, what if a landowner objects and wants to keep his land as it is now? Well, too bad! The state will buy his land.

This is a hugely expensive project, upsetting time-honored and lovely places. Asphalt will cover grazing land and dam up creeks, ruin ponds, and do away with animal habitat. Will it make driving safer for motorists? I can’t see that it would be safer than adding a couple of lanes to the highway that is already there. But, then, what do I know? As I said, I’m just whistling in the wind.