Zen and the Art of Road Maintenance

[Bill]

The road I take every day is older concrete pavement, so it has potholes. They fill the potholes repeatedly with asphalt, which then wash out every time it rains hard. Why not just cut out the bad, small sections, drill the edges for rebar installation, then concrete the holes to fix them permanently? Instead, they mound globs of asphalt which still create a bump, then they flatten, but not evenly, so still bump, then the asphalt washes out.....YUGE bump.

As it is, I know where they are, so I have to plan my driving to switch lanes, then try to space out where I'm at to straddle the two lanes at one point.

This asphalt method is the road maintenance equivalent of stopping every day to fill up your leaky tire with air, vs. addressing the root cause and having it patched correctly. Frankly, if I was the guy tasked with filling the potholes with asphalt, I'd get tired of filling the same holes over and over.

[6spdC6]

Originally Posted by bill_daniels

The road I take every day is older concrete pavement, so it has potholes. They fill the potholes repeatedly with asphalt, which then wash out every time it rains hard. Why not just cut out the bad, small sections, drill the edges for rebar installation, then concrete the holes to fix them permanently? Instead, they mound globs of asphalt which still create a bump, then they flatten, but not evenly, so still bump, then the asphalt washes out.....YUGE bump.

As it is, I know where they are, so I have to plan my driving to switch lanes, then try to space out where I'm at to straddle the two lanes at one point.

This asphalt method is the road maintenance equivalent of stopping every day to fill up your leaky tire with air, vs. addressing the root cause and having it patched correctly. Frankly, if I was the guy tasked with filling the potholes with asphalt, I'd get tired of filling the same holes over and over.

Its really not that hard of work and it is looked at as job security!

[Steve_R]

Originally Posted by bill_daniels

Frankly, if I was the guy tasked with filling the potholes with asphalt, I'd get tired of filling the same holes over and over.

If you were happy with that kind of job you'd love it since it's job security for life.

[Onebadcad]

Originally Posted by 6spdC6

Its really not that hard of work and it is looked at as job security!

Bam, someone gets it!!

[Onebadcad]

Originally Posted by Steve_R

If you were happy with that kind of job you'd love it since it's job security for life.

Bam #2!!

[BayouCountry]

Originally Posted by 6spdC6

Its really not that hard of work and it is looked at as job security!

Yep. Fix the problem and you don’t need as many public employees. The more public employees, the more democrat voters.

We have a spot at a major right turn lane that I have to maneuver around every time I go shopping. Even with the massive tax revenue increase from people moving to the area, it may never get fixed. Just keep filling it in.

Sad part is there is already pothole on the new road by the school. Guess how they fix that?

[Bill]

Originally Posted by BayouCountry

Yep. Fix the problem and you don’t need as many public employees. The more public employees, the more democrat voters.

We have a spot at a major right turn lane that I have to maneuver around every time I go shopping. Even with the massive tax revenue increase from people moving to the area, it may never get fixed. Just keep filling it in.

Sad part is there is already pothole on the new road by the school. Guess how they fix that?

That's just it. When it comes to road maintenance, you wouldn't have to fire anyone. There's always more road maintenance needed then there is resources to do it.

The same guys tossing asphalt down and rolling over it could be retrained and repurposed to actually FIX potholes on concrete roads. There would be a change in the equipment needed, and the material used (concrete v. asphalt), but if you're worried about jobs, road maintenance is always going to be in demand.

[Onebadcad]

Road maintenance, bridges, tunnels, construction, overpassess, etc... are the projects that keep stealing.

Francis Scott Key Bridge
Cost was $110M in 1977
Traffic is only 30K cars daily, less than 50% of Sunshine Skyway TPA / SPete
Toll is $4.00, none saved, used for politicians second vacation home

New bridge will cost over $2B, will probably be $5B
Should take 3 years, will take 7+ years
No one will get fired for delays and over-budget, as politicians need this to maximize their monies

Sunshine Skyway completed in 1987 for $240M
New Baltimore money grab, 7+ years construction, 2,000% higher than Skyway cost

Lastly, will be renamed, as FSK was waccist