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Rural Michigan counties turn failing roads to gravel
Chicago Tribune ^
| June 12, 2009
| Tim Martin
Posted on 06/13/2009 12:18:43 PM PDT by magellan
click here to read article
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To: Extremely Extreme Extremist
No, the problem is that the feds are using highway funds for general purposes. Get rid of the federal gas tax and force states to pay for their own roads. Roads and infrastructure are vital public services and should not be privatized.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.
41
posted on
06/13/2009 1:00:05 PM PDT
by
pnh102
(Regarding liberalism, always attribute to malice what you think can be explained by stupidity. - Me)
To: GOPsterinMA
“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?
42
posted on
06/13/2009 1:00:35 PM PDT
by
RoadTest
(For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus - I Tim 2:5)
To: ABQHispConservative
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??????
To: GOPsterinMA
Michigan, Detroit and I understand Philly and Cleveland are all in their third decade of steep decline.
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.
44
posted on
06/13/2009 1:02:50 PM PDT
by
Jacquerie
(That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men.)
To: magellan
This story goes hand in hand with the one about them tearning down half of Flint, MI.
45
posted on
06/13/2009 1:14:06 PM PDT
by
rbg81
(DRAIN THE SWAMP!!)
To: Dilbert San Diego
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.
To: magellan
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”.
47
posted on
06/13/2009 1:19:53 PM PDT
by
CdMGuy
To: skeeter
“Were 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...
48
posted on
06/13/2009 1:23:18 PM PDT
by
Clay Moore
(Obama: A good example of why stupid people shouldn't vote.)
To: grellis
49
posted on
06/13/2009 1:24:59 PM PDT
by
magslinger
(The first dog has papers but the President doesn't. How interesting!-cubsfanconswoman)
To: berkeleybeej
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!
50
posted on
06/13/2009 1:29:16 PM PDT
by
d2e
To: Extremely Extreme Extremist
Why? It had been demonstrated in a number of states that private industries can provide the services better than the government. (See also, the Great Northern Railroad.) If the private sector can do it, why should the government get involved?
51
posted on
06/13/2009 1:30:15 PM PDT
by
In veno, veritas
(Please identify my Ad Hominem attacks. I should be debating ideas.)
To: muawiyah
BTW, throughout the Midwest it is commonly the case that "gravel roads" are really pea gravel and tar concoctions that most folks can't tell from more formal paving techniques with heavier asphalt. 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.
52
posted on
06/13/2009 1:32:52 PM PDT
by
steve86
(Acerbic by nature, not nurture)
To: magellan
Michigan continues its slide into the realm of a third-world country. President Obama wants to Michiganize the rest of the country.
53
posted on
06/13/2009 1:36:38 PM PDT
by
FourPeas
(Why does Professor Presbury's wolfhound, Roy, endeavour to bite him?)
To: steve86
Couple of seasons that "tar" on a single layer road will look pretty much like dirt.
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.
54
posted on
06/13/2009 1:40:40 PM PDT
by
muawiyah
To: muawiyah
Montcalm converted nearly 10 miles on three primary county roads into gravel in May. Crushing the pavement and laying gravel cost about $10,000 a mile. Repaving a mile with asphalt would cost more than $100,000. The county had patched the roads in bits and pieces for years. But with potholes the size of steering wheels and no money for an extensive repaving, crews figured it wasn't worth another piecemeal job. I don't think they're talking about the pea gravel. The article also talks about damage to windshields.
55
posted on
06/13/2009 1:41:02 PM PDT
by
FourPeas
(Why does Professor Presbury's wolfhound, Roy, endeavour to bite him?)
To: muawiyah
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.
56
posted on
06/13/2009 1:43:09 PM PDT
by
FourPeas
(Why does Professor Presbury's wolfhound, Roy, endeavour to bite him?)
To: steve86
57
posted on
06/13/2009 1:45:32 PM PDT
by
muawiyah
To: steve86
Full of good stuff. Seems a "paved road" is paved with a semi-permanent surface such as asphalt or concrete.
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!
58
posted on
06/13/2009 1:48:32 PM PDT
by
muawiyah
To: FourPeas
That's the big difference between Michigan and Indiana ~ almost right along the state line (although that was strictly coincidental). Michigan has lots and lots of glacial sand deposits (with assorted gravel). Indiana has fewer such deposits, but more exposed limestone surface.
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!
59
posted on
06/13/2009 1:52:03 PM PDT
by
muawiyah
To: muawiyah
Most of the gravel-surfaced roads around here are (so far) maintained in pretty good shape, with the occasional bare spot or bermed area on a curve the only real defects you see. But I was on a privately-owned gravel road last weekend which gets heavy use by the public and it was awful. In my 4WD it would have literally been more comfortable to go cross country. The washboarding was so severe that at any speed you chose to drive, something in the vehicle would resonate (including your tooth fillings at certain speeds!) I was real glad to get off that one. The county has never had the money to purchase the road and maintain it properly. It is the only access to popular BLM land.
60
posted on
06/13/2009 1:54:58 PM PDT
by
steve86
(Acerbic by nature, not nurture)
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