{"id":36615,"date":"2014-05-13T06:30:50","date_gmt":"2014-05-13T11:30:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/?p=36615"},"modified":"2014-05-14T10:27:14","modified_gmt":"2014-05-14T15:27:14","slug":"trickle-down-counties-say-oil-money-for-roads-not-enough","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2014\/05\/13\/trickle-down-counties-say-oil-money-for-roads-not-enough\/","title":{"rendered":"Trickle Down: Counties Say Oil Money for Roads Not Enough"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Traffic

Texas Dept. of Transportation<\/p>

Traffic accidents have surged along with drilling in Texas counties.<\/p><\/div>\n

In what were some of the poorer counties in Texas, a surge in oil & gas drilling has set local economies on fire. But at the same time, officials have made dire pleas for help, saying the drilling boom is destroying roads and leading to deadly crashes.<\/p>\n

The Associated Press<\/a> found that while traffic deaths are down statewide in Texas, they’re up 18 percent in counties with lots of drilling.<\/p>\n

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“Unfortunately, one of the biggest growing pains and consequences of all this activity has been the increased number of fatalities that have taken place in these areas. We need to work on these roads, make them wider, make them safer,” said State Sen. Carlos Uresti (D-San Antonio), who represents some of the most oil-rich counties.<\/p>\n