Some years get the cool names like Year of The Dragon or Year of The Horse. This year Michigan gets the decidedly uncool Year of the Pothole.
Roads around here are more pothole than asphalt, and on one road I've traveled on about half of the right hand lane has crumbled into the side of the road.
Plenty of friends with flat tires and bent rims due to the damage, and it's sure not being fixed with any haste, speed nor competence. Now that the snow and ice are pretty much off the roads (except for the snow shower this morning - thanks so much Mr. Gore! - you'd think we could drive at normal speeds once again. Well, due to all the potgoles we sure as heck can't as people decide to slow to 5 mph whenever they see one or even stop dead when reaching a semi-submerged pothole field where there used to be a road.
I don't know if road commissions and various state politicians are just waiting for the situation to deteriorate more so that they can demand more money from the state to fix the roads or what.
Meanwhile, I'm not the only one noticing the execrable shape our states' roads are in:
The Detroit News: Michigan's potholes are scaring off investors
Considering we've got some of the worst roads in the US, it's well past time some effort went into fixing them, an effort beyond mere patching and flimsy repairs done only so that more road crews can fix the same piece of road next year in a lifetime-employment scheme for asphalt contractors.
I would not be against the state's proclaimed $1 billion dollar surplus going towards road repair and improvement. I support it if we knew that the money would be used well with resulting excellent roads that lasted and didn't need massive repairs in five years and the money wasn't wasted.
That's a big if.
2 comments:
Y'all need some of those new technologies up there... Underlayment and new compounds don't do away with ALL potholes, but they definitely are an improvement. Problem is, it cost LARGE $$ to retrofit the roads... sigh
Old NFO: It would be nice if they brought up the road construction standards to match modern technology. It may cost more upfront, but save a lot over time with less road maintenance and less car repairs.
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