President Obama has offered to fix roads and bridges to stimulate our economy. Here in California, our roads and bridges are relatively new and Caltrans seems to be keeping up with maintenance. If California receives any stimulus money, then perhaps California should consider installing the overhead utilities underground.

Undergrounding utilities is esthetically pleasing and prevents damage from fires, high winds, floods, freezing rain, snow, falling trees, tornadoes, Pacific storms, people picking up fallen wires, seismic events, and malicious damage. The harvesting of trees for utility poles and chemical treatment of the poles could be eliminated. The trees could continue to provide clean air or they could be harvested and used to build homes. The concern about overhead electromagnetic radiation would be eliminated.

During an Anchorage earthquake, the transformers on the power poles in the downtown alleys broke off the top of the poles. It took weeks to replace the poles and transformers. In the areas where the utilities were underground, they required no repair.

Undergrounding our utilities would be an excellent use of stimulus money and would get people working. Working people pay taxes and spend to keep the economy active. When the unemployed spend unemployment money they are still unemployed and need more money.