June 1, 2026
Opinion: Millbrook's Pothole Problem Is an Emergency, Not a Budget Line Item
Columnist Ray Desjardins argues the city's crumbling roads aren't just an inconvenience — they're a symptom of years of deferred political courage.
MILLBROOK, June 3 — Let me tell you about my Tuesday morning. I left the house early, coffee in hand, took the usual route down Sycamore Street toward the Depot District, and promptly blew a tire in a pothole so deep it could double as a koi pond. This is not a unique experience in Millbrook right now. Talk to anyone who drives in this city and you'll get a variation of the same story. The roads are in bad shape, everyone knows it, and yet every budget cycle the fix gets pushed to next year.
The Numbers Don't Lie
City infrastructure reports — the ones that don't get a lot of front-page attention — show that 38% of Millbrook's primary road surfaces are rated "poor" or "failing" by the regional transportation authority. The city allocated $2.1 million for road repairs in the current fiscal year. The transportation department's own estimate for what's actually needed? $7.4 million. That's not a funding gap, that's a canyon. And every year we patch it with asphalt band-aids and hollow promises from council members who'll be photographed in hard hats come October.
- Three car accidents on record this spring were at least partly attributed to road surface conditions
- Local auto shops report a spike in suspension and tire-related repairs since March
- Millbrook's road quality ranking among comparable regional cities: dead last
I'm not here to point fingers at any one administration — this problem has been growing for two decades under leaders from both parties. But the next person who stands at a podium and tells Millbrook residents that "roads are a priority" had better arrive with a real funding plan, not a talking point. The voters are watching. And so are their alignment bills.
