There is a diabolical enemy that exists in plain sight in the state of Rhode Island.

It saps the lifeblood out of your existence, causes pain and emotional distress, turns quiet days and nights into horror shows, and if you’re lucky, rips your bank account into only marginal chaos. 

I’m talking, of course, about potholes.

No, let me qualify.

I’m talking about potholes, depressed manhole covers and drainage grates, ripped up roads with no warnings, and “repaired” roads after the installment of new water mains or sewer lines that are anything but “repaired.”

Only in Rhode Island do you have to look down at the road ahead of you, rather than look at oncoming cars. And look at the scenery at your peril.

If you do choose to look at cars or buildings, you have a great chance of hearing that earth-shattering sound of a front axle bending to a hole the size of Block Island. 

We are a state that has passed the buck for so long on upkeep and repairs that we sometimes have to do the sign of the cross before we cross a bridge.

And in one case, and you know what I’m referring to, we have to close our eyes when we see a truck coming in the adjacent lane because we just know that in that section of the Washington Bridge, the lanes are so tight that we can shake the hand of the passenger in the next lane. 

It doesn’t have to be this way.

It’s got nothing to do with politics.

It’s just people with the will to get things done for a change. 

We have to demand that our elected officials get off their high horse and smell the pavement (maybe the problem is that they are still riding horses). 

Rhode Island is a beautiful state.

People love looking at the unique scenery when passing through.

That is until they get a flat tire or broken axle from a manhole cover that is six inches below the surface of the highway, or a pothole that is humongous. 

When budget time comes rolling around, I hope that our elected officials, both statewide and in our cities and towns, take this matter into account. Maybe redirect some of the unspent funds on road plowing as our recent winters have been relatively free of significant snow events. 

God only knows that with the new administration in Washington, D.C., there is a lot of heavy lifting that our federal delegation must do to get needed federal funds.

And it doesn’t help that they are constantly suing and blasting the very people to whom they have to beg for more federal funds. 

I think Buddy Cianci might have said it best: “Be careful, because the toe that you are stepping on today is connected to the a-- that you might have to kiss tomorrow.” 

Let’s hope some good folks develop a plan to rectify this situation.

A Warwick resident and former West Warwick mayor, Mike Levesque is the author of “Meeting with Mike,” a column profiling community members appearing in this paper.