A survey done by a Central Jersey congressman found that most people think their roads where they live need repair.

U.S. Rep. Any Kim, D-N.J. 3rd District, surveyed 520 residents in Burlington and Ocean Counties. Nearly 7 in 10 reported a need for roadwork.

“It’s simply ridiculous that when the vast majority of our neighbors face this issue on their doorsteps, Congress can’t find common ground to act," the freshman lawmaker said.

Kim adds that one of the lessons we learned from Superstorm Sandy was that highways, roads and bridges need to be in top shape to be used for evacuations if and when it becomes necessary.

"I'll tell you, when I hear that 44 bridges in my congressional district that are considered structurally deficient, that's a huge problem. It's something we need to fix immediately," he said.

Kim backs legislation called The Resilient Highways Act to ensure key infrastructure can handle heavy volume in an evacuation. The law would allow state transportation departments to use up to 15% of funds apportioned under the National Highway Performance Program for projects to mitigate the risk of recurring damage from extreme weather, flooding and other natural disasters.

"Right now we're trying to build up our support for this across Congress. So I'm certainly connecting with a lot of my colleagues," Kim said.

Joe Cutter is the senior news anchor on New Jersey 101.5

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