Editor, Gazette-Journal:

So now we are expecting the rest of the U.S. taxpayers to pay the cost of maintaining the Coleman Bridge? (“Wittman looks to feds to bear some cost of Coleman Bridge,” page 1A, July 13 Gazette-Journal).

I am shocked that Representative Wittman would suggest such a thing, since it adds to Big Government. Adding one more expenditure item to the must-pass military appropriations bill is part of why U.S. spending is so “out of control,” per the Republican representation.

Tolls should be looked at, not as an “unfair tax,” but as paying our dues. If you join a golf club, or a community center like the YMCA, you pay dues to maintain the facility. We joined the Coleman Bridge Club when we (or our ancestors) decided to live here. We agreed that widening the bridge was a necessary safety improvement. We are paying our dues.

From the article: “The original debt for the construction of the bridge will be retired in 2021. Under ...