Just Sayin': Why is the Route 112 construction project endless?

Anyone who drives on Route 112 from Port Jefferson Station to the Long Island Expressway has experienced the frustration of the construction to improve the roadway. I travel to southern New Jersey to visit relatives, and during this same time, since 2010, I’ve watched the entire Staten Island Expressway project come to completion. Still the work on 112 continues.

Why were concrete planting dividers installed? I’m sure this increased the price of the project considerably. The sections that are now done display a wide variety of weeds for us to enjoy — not only in the planting beds, but all over the concrete work.

Originally, I thought they were going to expand the road to four lanes, but it’s still a two-lane road. Why not simply resurface the two lanes, with a turning lane in the middle, and be done with it?

Robert Mancuso, Coram

Hurricanes prove value of hybrid-fuel vehicles

In 2000, I bought a Toyota Prius because I was fascinated by the hybrid gas-electric technology. I’ve driven the car for 17 years, still averaging 40 miles per gallon.

The concept of a gasoline engine producing virtually no emissions, and generating electrical energy for the electric motor-drive engine, was an engineer’s dream come true!

As all-electric cars were introduced, I thought, and still think, that the idea was crazy. The electricity to drive these cars is generated in highly polluting power plants. Yes, the autos are zero-emission, but the emissions from the power plants are already in the air.

Hybrid cars make more sense; they generate electrical energy with less pollution.

The hurricanes in Texas and Florida solidified my position! Some areas had no power for two weeks, so if people had all-electric cars, they were out of luck. With my hybrid car, I can put a 10-gallon can of gas in my trunk and go 800 miles. I’ve never been able to figure out how to put a 10-gallon can of volts in my trunk!

Charles A. Darling, South Setauket