Posted on 06/13/2009 12:18:43 PM PDT by magellan
As goes Michigan's crumbling economy, so go some once-paved rural roads now being turned back into gravel.
About a quarter of the state's county road agencies largely left out of the federal stimulus package, which focuses on highways and other major thoroughfares, say they can't afford some costly repaving projects and have crushed up deteriorating roads.
Montcalm County alone estimates it saved nearly $900,000 by converting almost 10 miles of pothole-plagued pavement into gravel this spring.
Reverting to gravel on low-traffic roads has been done to some degree for years and long-term savings and maintenance costs vary widely. But it can be an attractive option for municipalities seeking to save money up front and it's recently been done in a few other states, including Indiana and Vermont.
More than 20 of the 83 counties in Michigan, home to the nation's highest unemployment rate for much of the past four years, have turned rural roads back to gravel with no immediate plans to repave, according to the County Road Association of Michigan. About 50 miles have been reverted in the last three years.
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
While I agree with you that the states should collect all of the gas tax and use it to pay for highways, I want to point out that states are no better than the feds at siphoning gas tax money on unrelated spending.
Heck, in Penna. they want to put tolls on Interstate 80 but use the toll money to pay for transit programs in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. I-80 in Penna. goes nowhere near either city.
“Does anyone else see this as a sign that the standard of living here in this country is trying to be lowered?”
I see it. Can anyone yet see how the last war will be fought with horses and bows and arrows and swords, according to the Bible?
What about Porkulus? I thought that Porkulus was supposed to be spent on lots of shovel ready project such as road maintenance.
Since it was Bush’s fault that bridges collapsed, is it now Obama’s fault if roads are crumbling under his watch??????
All are demonstrative of democrat/union/statist policies in action. Civilization is fragile. These cities and states show that like 5th century Europe, civilization can retreat in the modern era as well.
This story goes hand in hand with the one about them tearning down half of Flint, MI.
I think the article mentions that rural roads were not included in the porkulus. From what I read, it appears that the porkulus is nothing more than a pr campaign.
Is this the same state that advertises on CNBC on a daily basis urging businesses to move to Michigan? It ends with the actor saying, “Because in Michigan, you get the upper hand.” Obviously, a play on the geographical shape of the state. It sounds more like Michiganders are getting a bit less than the “upper hand”. More like the “middle finger”.
“We’re soon gonna be sorry all those buggy whip manufacturers went out of business.”
Maybe all the out of work newspaper presstitutes can start making them...
miping
I live on a dirt road, off a dirt road, off a dirt road - in Vermont. (Vermont has the highest percentage of unpaved roads in the U.S.) We manage just fine but, of course, we have two SUVs. The only hairy part is MUD season!
So is that what they're talking about in Michigan? Here gravel roads are literally that: little rocks laying on top of dirt with no tar or other adhesive agent. Very dusty and little durability.
Michigan continues its slide into the realm of a third-world country. President Obama wants to Michiganize the rest of the country.
I suspect that in the Midwest they are talking about peagravel and tar ~ although I have experienced "gravel roads" but many of them were "paved" with local gravel so they looked pretty much like dirt anyway ~ then there's "crushed rock", and I haven't seen that term showing up in any of these articles. Gravel roads ride one way, and crushed rock roads ride differently.
I don't think they're talking about the pea gravel. The article also talks about damage to windshields.
On the western side of Michigan where the counties discussed are located, there isn’t any “local rock” to speak of. Gravel roads are just that, gravel.
Everything else is "unpaved".
Unpaved does not mean "dirt". It can mean "corduroy", "dirt", "gravel", "stone" and a variety of other surfaces.
"Stone" roads exist in and around Bloomington, Indiana. They cut large blocks of limestone and lay them down as drives and private roads in many places.
Indiana 37 (lots of you have been there) is, for the most part, a layer of concrete that's been poured right on top of solid limestone floor.
Easier to lay concrete to smooth out the bumps than to polish the limestone!
The Upper Peninsula is in part like Lake Michigan bottom, and in others, like Lake Superior structures.
BTW, if Michigan had not swapped 10 miles of tillable land along the Southern border to Indiana, the UP would still be part of Indiana and this conversation would be very difficult to 'splain!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.