The upkeep, maintenance and replacement of aging freeways, state highways, bridges of all types and many of our ferries is woefully inadequate, even dangerously so.

But, we wonder just why anyone is surprised.

The latest problem is the ferries, where four 80-year-old boats were found to have severely pitted hulls. They are now out of service. Almost daily, there is a new shuffle of boats while the Coast Guard and the state ferries find problems large and small.

One person was heard to say, "The roads are not maintained, the bridges are not maintained, so why does anyone think the ferries should be any different?" Excellent question, but the answer may not be as obvious as most think.

It is easy to blame state and local government agencies for the mess. They are in charge, so why did they just let the infrastruction deteriorate until we have a rash of very expensive projects to the point that ferries are out of service, the governor says the Alaskan Way Viaduct will be torn down no matter what by 2012 and the 520 bridge may have tolls again after decades without them.

Government is to blame insofar as they have not adequately warned the voters, especially in the case of ferries.

However, the real problem can be named simply "Tim Eyman Disease." This bottom-feeder, who is getting wealthy drawing up initiatives that cut taxes, has scared the entire political structure into serving his whims and desires to draw up and get signatures for even more and more initiatives.

First he is the worst drafter of initiatives in the history of writing laws. To hype his cause and scare voters, he tosses in all sorts of dramatic phrases that eventually wind up in the courts. Time after time, his initiatives are found unconstitutional because of the terrible way they are written and the total disregard for the requirement of the Washington State Constitution.

But the governor and the Legisature is so afraid of his wailing, "The activist judges are rejecting the will of the people," that they quickly do Mr. Eyman's bidding and repass the measure, albeit without all the illegal mumbo-jumbo.

It would be easy to totally blame Eyman, but the people vote for his trash, the Legislature often hurries to do his bidding and government quietly accepts the billions of budget cutbacks.

Are we not all to blame for the deterioration of our roads, bridges and ferries?

- Jack Mayne