road deterioation

Do you think that roads deteriorate faster than they used to? Two of the roads that I travel almost every day have deteriorated tremendously over the last year when they were repaired and resurfaced. Now I know the argument of more traffic especially heavy trucks but I can't believe how bad they deteriorated in the one year since they were totally replaced.


I really didn't see how these roads were replaced. Perhaps they didn't do it correctly, removing enough layers Ect. An interesting article I read a few years ago, implicated that since all the years that asphalt roads have been in place that a certain type of bacteria has been slowly growing that can eat the oil in the asphalt. I know they grow a strain of bacteria that they used to eat oil spills at sea and I'm told it's pretty efficient. I wonder if this road bacteria is now a factor in asphalt road deterioration.. If so I doubt much can be done about it as the cure would probably be worse than the condition.

[hooky]

Recycled blacktop ?

[kzoofisher]

Very likely the budget allotted. You got a $50 job when a $75 job was needed. That’s the way it is these days.

[Hot Runr Guy]

Originally Posted by kzoofisher

Very likely the budget allotted. You got a $50 job when a $75 job was needed. That’s the way it is these days.

My guess is this. ^^^^^

People chasing the lowest bid, and contractors not being asked to provide anything more than a minimum warranty (if any). If they start writing bids that require a 5-year warranty, watch the bids shoot up. Or pavers going out of business, and re-starting under a different name.

HRG

[Aspencreek]

My brother works for an engineering firm and oversees road, runway and other projects as the onsite engineer, to make sure the roads etc. are done to spec. The Horror stories he tells is mind boggling. First is the bidding process (what it costs to do in heaven) then the cost here on earth, to the deliberate underperformance by some contractors in doing the job. And of course some State and county roads get little to no supervision, it's just let the contractor get it done.

The Federal regulations are another thing that jacks the cost of Interstate projects, an example that he pointed out. Those sloped areas in the sidewalks with the dimpled steel plates at cross walks. Those things are not for traction, which I thought, they are designed for the blind, But Federal requirements say they must be painted a certain color, with a certain paint.....huh? How many blind people are at the rest stops unattended and why a certain color? And the list goes on......

[Aspencreek]

Originally Posted by hooky

Recycled blacktop ?

That's been going on for years, big machine scrub's off the top few inches and sends it to a line up of trucks where it gets sent to a plant where the stuff gets reground, and new oil and whatever gets reintroduced and then delivered back to the paver and put back down. You have never seen that big machine and the line of trucks? It was done on 43 and 41 in GB for the last 4 yrs.

[Baseline]

There are probably lots of reasons why road deteriorate, but one reason is that many roads have way more traffic than the are designed to carry. Poor urban planning that concentrate populations of people in areas away from their jobs and essential services cause traffic to increase. Another issue is traffic rapidly switches to a newly paved road when practical to complete a trip.

[Custom Eyes]

I don't know about other states, but in Michigan, they do some "experimental" road projects with new/different standards to see how they hold up in real life. I'd guess there are probably some that are failures to varying degrees.

[reddog]

I think theres alot more chemical put down these days, because nobody seems to want to drive like its winter conditions. Pre treating roads. salt, etc.

[Fin Bender]

What kind of crack repair goop to they put on asphalt roads now? If the sun hits that stuff at a low angle it reflects light like a mirror, straight into my windshield, totally blinding, very bad.