I-70 Indiana and Western Ohio

jkwilson wrote:
Truck traffic on 70 is beyond imagination. It chews up the road in no time. Add in freeze thaw cyles and you have a tough life for a road.

A big misconception with uninformed people today (and yesterday). The 'per square inch' of tire loading on a big truck (which is what impacts the road surface) is actually less on an 80,000 pound GVW, 5 axle vehicle, than it is on a 2 axle Honda Civic.

Freeze/thaw cycles do impact the roadbed when the roadbed is substandard.

In reality, truck traffic on I-75 is much greater than I 70.

Also, keep in mind that the 'Interstate Highway System wasn't meant for vehicular traffic when envisioned by the Eisenhower Administration. It was implemented and designed for rapid movement and deployment of troops and tanks during a national emergency. Private vehicles were a secondary option. Not primary.

lots2seeinmyrv wrote:
Just where are OUR tax dollars going?

Certainly not fixing our country.

Another 200 billion to the Pentagon this year, bringing military spending to just under $1,000,000,000,000.00 a year. This is nearly 10 times the next nearest nation. No politics, just stats.

Truck traffic on 70 is beyond imagination. It chews up the road in no time. Add in freeze thaw cyles and you have a tough life for a road.

I remember driving in Wisconsin quite a long time ago and noticing that they used that steel that rusts for five years creates a coating and then never needs painting again. It is extremely expensive, but long term is self sustaining and impervious to deterioration for all intents and purposes. I noticed how smooth the roads were also and asked someone and they said that the state had put a whole lot more into the original roads including and especially the base so that the long term maintenance costs would be sharply reduced.

I haven't been in Wisconsin for like 25 years, so can't attest to much more than what I noted above. I have seen some bridges made out of that steel since, but they usually are bridges where the maintenance would be difficult like way up in the air. Growing up in Indiana, the roads used to be good, but since it has grown so much, I too have noticed all the work around the edges, like what is this carve out a two foot by four foot section along the edge every 200 feet and put asphalt in it that six months later is cupped and a bear to drive over. I'm thinking its that base showing wear at the seams of the slabs.

DutchmenSport wrote:
I've tried to sound the alarm and warning about Indiana Interstates for years now! Avoid interstates. Take the US Highways. East-West? US-40, US-50, US-36, US-24, US-27, US-30. North-South take US-31, US-52, US-231, US-421.

Interstate 70 from Indianapolis to Ohio has always been a disaster zone. I-75 going to Cincinnati? About 3 years ago they had that stretch of interstate baby-but smooth. I was fortunate to drive it, but only once. I thought, AH! Finally roads are getting fixed. Two weeks later drove the same road again towing the trailer, and thought I'd have a wreck. They'd dug everything up again, making trenches across every few miles. Truck parts scattered everywhere. One section, I slowed down to 25 mph and rode the shoulder with the trailer it was so bad.

I-70 from Indy to Illinois was just done. Drove it this last August, but already there are spots they are digging up. It just doesn't make sense.

Take US Highways! Speed limits are 60 mph, they are 4 lane, and provide a much smoother ride!

Indiana Interstates just suck! It's been this way for a long, long time!

The county road I live on is smoother than the interstates! Really! And I really think the remaining gravel roads in Park County are smoother than the interstates too!

The issue with I-70 is the same with I-75 in Michigan. The road base is unstable and no matter what you do to the road itself, when the foundation sucks, the road falls apart. I-75, especially from the Buckeye State Line to the Rouge Bridge in Detroit is built on a shifting sand flood plain and no amount of backfilling or concrete thickness will ever stabilize the road surface. 23 North is a better bet as the under substrate is much more stable, hence the roadway is smoother.

Same thing is going on with I70 east and west. Old Dwight had the right idea, problem was, even back then, a lot of the funding got sidetracked into greedy pockets, funding that should have went into base stabilization.

You can dress up a pig, but it's still a pig underneath. Same applies to a roadway.

jplante4 wrote:
Miserable, miserable, miserable. Mile after mile of trucks beating up the road.

Even the freshly paved sections are lumpy. They didn't bother to do anything with the bridges (repaving adds too much weight) or the underpasses (repaving adds too much height) so every half mile or so it's a bone jarring rig shaking ride. At one point I switched to the left lane because it was marginally better. I don't know what these sates are doing with their federal highway funds, but it's not being spent on this roadway.

Dwight Eisenhower must be rolling over in his grave.

When we travel east to west or west to east we always avoid I-70. I'd rather run the 2 lane scenic route and rubberneck than deal with poor road and numerous trucks (and idiot car drivers) any day.

Actually, unless we have a specific destination and time frame, we always run the 2 lanes. Only way to really enjoy America in my opinion.

I've tried to sound the alarm and warning about Indiana Interstates for years now! Avoid interstates. Take the US Highways. East-West? US-40, US-50, US-36, US-24, US-27, US-30. North-South take US-31, US-52, US-231, US-421.

Interstate 70 from Indianapolis to Ohio has always been a disaster zone. I-75 going to Cincinnati? About 3 years ago they had that stretch of interstate baby-but smooth. I was fortunate to drive it, but only once. I thought, AH! Finally roads are getting fixed. Two weeks later drove the same road again towing the trailer, and thought I'd have a wreck. They'd dug everything up again, making trenches across every few miles. Truck parts scattered everywhere. One section, I slowed down to 25 mph and rode the shoulder with the trailer it was so bad.

I-70 from Indy to Illinois was just done. Drove it this last August, but already there are spots they are digging up. It just doesn't make sense.

Take US Highways! Speed limits are 60 mph, they are 4 lane, and provide a much smoother ride!

Indiana Interstates just suck! It's been this way for a long, long time!

The county road I live on is smoother than the interstates! Really! And I really think the remaining gravel roads in Park County are smoother than the interstates too!

Pennsylvania has the highest gas tax in the USA, but you wouldn't know it by driving on our roads.
I guess the free cell phones are getting more expensive?

Just where are OUR tax dollars going?

Certainly not fixing our country.

I live n Indiana. Some of the worst roads I've ever experienced. Disgraceful!! Spent 3 weeks in the Traverse City Michigan area this summer. Politicians were campaigning on "fix the **** roads". Actually worse in Michigan. The US infrastructure is falling apart.