Road Rage (Or Rather - Rage at the Roads)

[WhittleBurner]

The stretch of I-75 from Detroit to Toledo was a contender for many years. The northern half of it was finally closed for a year-plus-long repair/replacement (and don't think THAT is inexpensive!) but long pieces of the lower half are still pretty rough.

We avoid that stretch by taking I 96 to 23 south . That merges in past a good deal of the rough road and construction . We live fairly close to an enterance for I 75 and won't take it right now. It adds about 15 mins to our travel day but worth every second and the gallon of fuel it may eat up.

[CWSWine]

I don't mind toll roads since the people that use them most help pay for them but when toll road that worse than most non-toll roads that upset me. We to visit the beautiful state of Colorado several times a year and when you cross the border of Kansas and Colorado on I5 you sure tell the difference. Colorado roads out east are really bad as you get closer to Denver there not great but lot better.

[TNFSolitude]

For our Canadian friends and those that live in the Thumb that will soon be travelling to destinations sourth:
Update on I-75 coming south out of Detroit: Due to a labor dispute and a lockout by the general contractor the I75 project may not be finished this year. Right now I75 south is open only from Outer Drive in Lincoln Park to the state line.
Regarding the portion of expressway in southern Monroe County there is good news and bad news for 2019. First the good news, there is construction planned and budgeted for 2019. The bad news is it's only from the state line to mile marker 5. The jackasses that run MDOT are ignoring 10 miles of road that are just as bad as the first 5 miles. A couple of years ago 5 miles was completed from mile 15 - 20. Why they piecemeal this area is unknown and ignorant. End of rant.
I'll let everyone know if and when I-75 is completed from SW Detroit to Outer Drive.

[orbiker]

I was in California a few years ago on a 2 week motorcycle trip. I think I was on 89 East of McCloud. There was a construction zone and flaggers. I zipped around 3 or 4 cars o the front of the line. I was talking to the flagger and she said that the CA road inspector had flunked the private road crews work and the crew was smoothing off slight imperfections. That road was way better then many roads. It was perfect and the imperfections were bull.
There are other roads across the nation that I have been on right after resurfacing and I would give the road crew an "F" for their workmanship. There are also roads that get dug up for "some reason" and the patch job gets an "F" also. There should be an inspection ( by an overpaid inspector) done when the work is completed and see if there was any pride in workmanship. If it's not smooth like it should be, it needs to be fixed on the road crews dime.

Pride in workmanship needs to come back. KEN

[CWSWine]

Pride in workmanship needs to come back. KEN

Seems like the road crews there are 4 supervisors that are supervising 1 worker you would think they could get right

[Tom&Joan]

Just wrapping up a 6,000 mile+ journey and had a wonderful swing through the West.

Just a very brief comment about the roads in this great nation of ours. The Interstates STINK. They are poorly maintained, extremely rough and downright damaging to our vehicles. Trucks have beat these major arteries to death and quite frankly, it will be a miracle if we can ever find the funds to correct this mess. I-70 in CO is a disaster. I-65 around Birmingham? A joke. I-90 in NY State (one of the highest tolls in the nation)? Disaster. Despite the fact that they are great connectors to every part of this country, the state of disrepair that these major arteries are in is disgraceful. I don't care who's responsible - with the amount of taxes (income taxes, fuel taxes, sales taxes, license fees, registration fees, tolls - on and on) we pay, there simply is no excuse for this neglect. Funnel the money from motorists to "social programs" and let the motorists who use the roads suffer.

On the other hand, the secondary arteries are generally in far better repair that the vaunted interstates, which is but one reason I avoid the "I's"

Just my two cents. End of rant.

Regarding trucks ruining the roads, trucks are a given, they move the nation. Roads should be built to accommodate legal traffic. The fact is, rough roads ruin trucks and in turn the roughness likely causes a bouncing suspension to do more damage. I have seen smooth roads with considerable heavy truck traffic hold up just fine.

[livinthelife]

We did a Canada/Alaska trip this summer. 2 months. The biggest issue we were warned about was the roads. We were told be careful driving, due to the frost heaves, and length of winter, not all roads will be in good condition.

Well, I'll tell you the worst stretch of road we had on that trip was at the end of the trip, heading south on the I-5 through Sacramento. It was chewed up so badly, I had doubts we'd make it back home in one piece.

Another thing that the roads in Canada & Alaska had that helped keep the rough roads from absolutely killing our rigs (that the roads in the US don't) are the "BUMP" signs, and alert flags that mark bad road as you're driving along.

[BigGuy82]

Regarding trucks ruining the roads, trucks are a given, they move the nation. Roads should be built to accommodate legal traffic. The fact is, rough roads ruin trucks and in turn the roughness likely causes a bouncing suspension to do more damage. I have seen smooth roads with considerable heavy truck traffic hold up just fine.

Well that's an alternative opinion. Another way to view this is that these 80,000 lb behemoths beat the living daylights out of the roadway. Move the nation? Well, maybe, but one train can move the same amount of freight as dozens (hundreds) of trucks. Whose fault is that? I've always thought that moving a truckload of freight from NY to LA is just plain dumb - not at all efficient. Using a truck to move that same freight from a train terminal to a local customer is really just common sense.

My opinion is that trucks destroy roads, tie up traffic needlessly, pollute the atmosphere, increase the costs of goods sold ... all because we as a nation lacked the foresight to properly use rail transport coupled with short haul trucking. I'm sorry if this rubs someone the wrong way, but crisscrossing the nation with thousand of individual truckloads that could just as easily be handled by rail just does not make sense. As far as the roads go, how do you think they got into the sorry state they are in? Do you think cars and RV's did that damage? Of course, weather and neglect contributed but trucks are not innocent.

By the way, we're getting off topic - the fact is that out national highway system is a wreck.

[CWSWine]

How to Take Your RV on a Train Vacation

https://getawaytips.azcentral.com/ho...-12395380.html

[Tom&Joan]

Trucks versus railroads is all about logistics and economics. Shipment by rail is not practical for many manufacturers in the world of efficient "just in time" production. Rail is more efficient for heavy bulk loads like coal. Also rail cannot deliver fuel to gas stations or to deliver to many businesses as tracks don't run there.

Would you like the replacement faucet for your trailer from Amazon shipped via truck or rail? I would assume you would want to use your unit this year, not wait till sometime in 2019.