NorthofDetroitGuy's Blog

I think it's just a matter of crappy construction , kick backs , political contributions , and heavy trucks .

Still the point does make sense that why build roads if you cant keep up with the roads you already have?

Has anyone noticed that the new asphalt repaving that they use now for our roads & highways actually contributes to more accidents due to black ice? They should have used the concrete with the grooves like they started a few years back for traction in wet or icy conditions; Too much like right.

Bacsitdz you read my mind! I read this earlier and was going to post that exact same thing when I got home tonight. You beat me by about 2 hours.

I was waiting for these replies so I could post this:
In the 1960's the United States spent less then $40 billion. That even includes things other then roads. Today we spend around $350 billion nationwide. That's also adjusted for inflation. The real number is actually much higher. This being said, the number of miles of roads we service is now much higher. In the 1960's almost all roads were 2 lanes with passing lines and zones. Today a large number of our roads are 5 line (2 lanes each side with a center turn lane). This wider lane structure also means that more water has to flow to the drains and there is a longer distance for that water to travel to the sewer. In which case it gets caught in one of the many unsealed seems. By increasing the width of the road, you have also increases the amount of water that gets caught in the seams as well as the number of seams themselves.
In addition, the sewer system is centralized. We now have more water flowing threw many of the sewers because of the milage of roads collecting that water. In addition we have a ton of vacant lots, houses and buildings downtown that also have roads and sewers that go unused. Yet when it rains, the water has to go somewhere when it hits the street. In addition to that, we have houses that have 2-4 bathrooms now. More water with more temperature changes in the sewer system. That is the temperature is consistently warmer because of the la

I concur car. I often think about Hall Road/M59. If you think about it, all the people south of Hall Road paid for it, so all the people north of it could use it. That's because many of those communities and subdivisions didn't exist when Hall Road was being built. Granted much of the area is very nice, but couldn't we have re-developed say Masonic and Gratiot? Or How about 12 Mile and the Universal Mall area that is now a developing ghetto. Instead we are almost at the point

Shockhazard is right, I believe the weight limitations on our roads are the highest in all the surrounding states. Heard it's done for the auto industry but seems senseless to me in light of the fact that they are moving jobs out not in.
Our supposed environmentally conscience Governor should read the articles on how the black top absorbs more water and that contributes to the reduction in the water table. It's probably a factor in the black ice situation too.
How many costs in road repairs could be averted if they were built with the standards mentioned by jax276? The Governor would lose her PR on how these infrastructure repairs create jobs. Anyone know if there are ties to any politicians that get these contracts?

So, back to the original issue, does Urban Sprawl directly or indirectly cause potholes. So far the answer is yes. Can anyone give factual information that proves urban sprawl has little or no impact? In the future I am considering buying a new house. I am a very ethical person, and am thinking it's not so ethical to live out in the 26 mile road area and commute south of Hall Road when I could buy or remodel a house south of there and get potentially better schools, spend less on gas, and not be a contributor to other environmental and local economic issues such as the amount of money available to spend on road repair/replacement.

And the roads? If not for the buildup of outer suburbs, there wouldn't be a reason to increase the roads. I remember when the Van BLEEP freeway (M53) only extended to just south of Romeo, now it's nearly to the Lapeer county line. That's at least four lanes of concrete, bridges, over and underpasses, and the so-called 'improved' crossroads.
With dwindling dollars in their budgets and increased roads to maintain, the county and municipal road commissions are doing more work with less resources. It can't help but make the roads worse.