Bloke Loc: Waynesboro, Pennsylvania

I remember seeing (or perhaps reading...) an explanation for this phenomenon. It seems that, by law, when planning new roads, the council in charge are *required* to accept the lowest bid. So any company which suggests using better materials or techniques are outbid by those who offer a shoddy - but cheaper - option.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

For that reason, it is essential that the bid specifications be complete in material specification and bonding of results.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Exactly.

Several years ago, a man in the NYC area installed a huge traffic sign over a busy highway. It was an area where people kept making the wrong turn. He researched the topic, and he got everything right. I couldn't find an online reference, but the nightly news did a big report on it - with video.

Speaking of traffic signs, it is legal to buy them, but you cannot put them up by roads. I have several - and a traffic light - in my garage.

https://www.trafficsign.com/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAn-2tBhDVARIsAGmStVnz3CBWvGgFXFKyIlJuA4uzqbpRBr2L0M3vAKnresreGQn9mlxQJCwaAqq-EALw_wcB

A local man buys and restores old traffic lighst and then sells them. New lights are kinda pricey.

https://www.trafficsafetywarehouse.com/Triple-LED-Traffic-Controller-Vertical/productinfo/5618//?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAn-2tBhDVARIsAGmStVnUhk-sRVtMmaVSMKLCaVLOHkg4L-AvnWZtqLAgYap-HTTi3rzneBoaAjE3EALw_wcB

BebuLamar

My brother in law was a civil engineer lived in Vietnam. He had a business paving roads. When the roads he paved got problem he said they were built to American specifications.

fourlocks Loc: Londonderry, NH

Same problem here in my town. I live on a road dating back to the 1800's that no doubt started out as a horse trail and was expanded into a dirt road. Somewhere in the mid-1900's it was first paved with asphalt simply laid down over the dirt road without the benefit of proper drainage and compacted base layers. I don't know how many layers were added since the first but here have been 2 more layers added since I moved here in 1991. Each new layer lasts only a few years before starting to break up. I used to drive slightly down onto the road surface from the end of my driveway, now I drive up onto the road surface.

Indi Loc: L. I., NY, Palm Beach Cty when it's cold.

Seems to me that road repair crews used to repair potholes better.
I’m guessing that the procedure is:
1. Remove loose debris.
2. Fill the hole until it’s slightly over the surface of the road.
3. Steam roll or tamp down the asphalt until it’s level with the existing road surface.
4. Seal the asphalt with some sort of thick liquid sealant.

Seems like they leave out steps 3. And 4. Which, I think, are the most important.
I never see a steam roller with a repair crew, nor sealant.
They just pour asphalt in and move on.
I’ve even seen crew filling potholes in pouring rain.

I could be wrong.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Perfect! Fast and cheap! 🤣

I'd prefer to see more concrete and less asphalt.

Burtzy Loc: Bronx N.Y. & Simi Valley, CA

Think of the pot holes as gifts. Then, like the presents you've lost, they will simply disappear.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

Hey! You're mixing threads!

gouldopfl

Indiana is listed as #1 on the wall of shame when it comes to bad roads. Many roads have more patches than Original pavement. One main roads in my area was stripped down to the dirt, new gravel, and built up. This was finished about 4 months ago. After this pass 2 weeks of single digit and below zero temps, the road is full of potholes again. Estimates around to fix all of the roads around Indianapolis is 6 billion, but the freeze, thaw cycle is a killer.

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

The solution is to go back to cobblestone roads. We have cobblestone roads along the riverfront that are nearly 200 years old and I have yet to see a pothole in them.

Burtzy Loc: Bronx N.Y. & Simi Valley, CA

Of course. That was the point of the statement.

Bridges Loc: Memphis, Charleston SC, now Nazareth PA

You just hit on a problem with auto-drive cars. They would not be programmed to identify a pothole and avoid it. Someone should consider additional insurance if they plan to use one of these cars.

gouldopfl

As a software developer for 40 years, it would be pretty easy to develop a look ahead system using a scanner built into the front area where the grill area used to be.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

Auto-drive cars currently depend on cameras to read the road.

A couple years ago I went to a gathering of friends in a town I used to live in. It was a 3 hour 150 mile drive. We had a nice dinner and discussion. About 8pm we started home. It was in January and it had started to snow. We drove 75 miles (2 hours) before we saw any road markings. This was not due to inattention by the road crews. The plows were out and plowing. But it was snowing enough that the plows did not get the roads clean down to pavement. They were still merely white strips in the landscape. And this was all on Interstates.

Since the markings were not available on the roads, a self-driving car would be useless. In order to overcome snowy roads, the roads will have to be instrumented to allow the auto-drive cars to figure out where they are. We may get there eventually, but it means rebuilding our roads. All of them. Adding some form of instrumentation that will allow cars to locate themselves in spite of having road markings obscured. I suspect interstates will come first, but nobody lives on an interstate. To get to the interstate you have to travel on local roads to some extent, so those roads also need instrumentation.

Auto-drive is not ready for prime time. And to get there will require more than just cars.