America's roads are awful!!

Can't speak for many other areas road conditions but ours here in West Michigan/west side of the state are most all in very fine condition and smooth. The state highway commission and the county road commissions seem to stay on top of it as to resurfacing and repair when it's needed instead of waiting until the road is a disaster. We have NO complaints!

When we travel or RV in the west side of the state or the U.P., which is often, we seldom drive on or see rough roads but in the southeast side of the state (Detroit/Flint region) the road conditions are way below par and much repair is needed.

I-35 was bad in Northern Minnesota, drove in the passing lane to not tear up the RV. They have redone most of it and is smooth now.

Grit dog wrote:
Silliest thread I've seen in a while! Like complaining about the weather.

We can control the weather though.

Hope lots of folks feel the same way and quit the RV life. More campsites available for the rest of us.

The condition of the roads depends on many factors. One I need to research more on.

The construction standard.. Did you know that the states are PROHIBITED from doing surprise inspections of the concret mix or taking "Core" samples if federal money is involved??? My only comment is no comment for safety reasons.

Some roads are just not strong enough for today's big Semi's.. Some are built stronger. Some to autobaun or modified autobaun standards (A stretch of I-75 in Detroit was done that way as a test project. Alas I did not stick around long enough to find out how well it held up).

Eisenhower started the Freeway system.. .And since he left office the roads have gone to POT(holes) in many states.

troubledwaters wrote:

goducks10 wrote:
We decided to give a 1.5T tax cut to the rich instead. Most our politicians don't get out and drive around for days on end in a car. Guessing if they did things would change.

You can start a petition to pass a law to raise the gas tax (or you can do it by miles driven - whatever works for you) in your state purely to pay for highway maintenance. You can do the same thing at the county and local level. Problem solved.

Actually I feel the roads I drive on are pretty decent here in Oregon. Not so in some other states.

goducks10 wrote:

Actually I feel the roads I drive on are pretty decent here in Oregon. Not so in some other states.

We just came back from NE Oregon and the roads were in good condition on our route.

The 395 going south through Reno/Carson are is the worst rode I've ever driven. It was so rough that it broke the glovebox latch of my dashboard, mount and all. I will take the business route through there from now on, if I need to go that way, but will avoid it if at all possible. It was also pretty bad through the Kramer Junction area too, other than those 2 areas it wasn't to bad.

Reason I sold my MH and purchased another plane. Ride is pretty smooth at 10,000 ft. No potholds.

wa8yxm wrote:
The condition of the roads depends on many factors. One I need to research more on.

The construction standard.. Did you know that the states are PROHIBITED from doing surprise inspections of the concret mix or taking "Core" samples if federal money is involved??? My only comment is no comment for safety reasons.

Some roads are just not strong enough for today's big Semi's.. Some are built stronger. Some to autobaun or modified autobaun standards (A stretch of I-75 in Detroit was done that way as a test project. Alas I did not stick around long enough to find out how well it held up).

Eisenhower started the Freeway system.. .And since he left office the roads have gone to POT(holes) in many states.

I don't know what you mean by surprise inspections.

One - the concrete batching is inspected by a certified plant inspector as it is being batched at the plant, who then signs the batch ticket.

Two - The concrete is tested by a certified testing inspector at the site of the work as it comes out of the truck during the pour; who then signs the testing form.

Three - the concrete is inspected by a certified inspector as it is being formed, placed, finished, cured, etc. Who fills out and signs his report daily.

Don't know what you mean by "Prohibited surprise inspections". Where in the process is the "surprise" going to occur?


As far as coring the pavement, I'll direct you to the MDOT standard specifications for construction, Section 602.03.O Clicky

jfkmk wrote:

wildtoad wrote:
The problem is people complain about the roads, schools, and other tax funded entities but don’t want to pay for them.

Actually, the problem is we already pay very high taxes for the things, and the money gets squandered instead of wisely used.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

Hit the nail squarely on the head.