Rest stop reminder

Why, against all evidence, are we giving so much power to government? | Joel Belz

Associated Press/Photo by Steve Helber

It's a nondescript stretch of Interstate 85, heading south through the pine forests from Petersburg, across Virginia's lower tier of rural counties. I'm not sure why the overpass crossing the interstate caught my eye. Maybe it was that the dozen or so vehicles up there so clearly outnumbered the few down where I was on the much more spacious highway.

That's when I noticed, as we swished under the overpass, the name of the highway: "Poor House Road." It was a busy place.

And then it was only a few hundred yards to the next and much more poignant reminder. It was a rest stop—but orange barrels stretched across the exit, framing a scrawled "CLOSED" placard. I remembered reading that the Commonwealth of Virginia, trying desperately to balance its budget, is closing 19 out of 42 rest stops across the state. The bureaucrats say the closures will save $9 million over the coming year—or about half a million dollars per rest stop. Nor are the barricades just a temporary measure. Plumbing and wiring are being disconnected, and "fixtures" relocated to other sites.