Question: How are the roads in your area?

[killain]

I noticed today while I was cruising down rt.95 that the roads here in PA really suck. There is the normal chuck between the concrete roadway slabs, but there is really uneven and 1 or 2 inche patch humps at the roadway offramps and aprons and the roads are full of patches(if you can call them that) that stick up and rattle the hell out of the vette. You really have to be careful and watch and slow down when your driving. PennDot doesn't rebuild roads anymore, They run from roadway giveout to road breakdown site. all they can do is patching where ever they go. Not a good situation at all.;help

 

[leftyvette]

If Hillary and/or McCain get their way with the "gas tax holiday" there will be even less money available for road repairs!!!

 

[vett boy]

Maine is terrible ,worse in years.But they plan to balance all the budget problems with traffic fines.Some range up wards of $1000 . Welcome tourist

 

[RVN]

Houston, TX ...Harris county, the roads are very good. There's alot of growth and alot of new roads. The off roads that I use are often re-paved and are in good condition. Winter doesn't affect us like up north.

The new concrete roads have radical dips at the storm sewers in the right hand lanes. Even if you're centered in the lane and not riding the curb you'll experience some incredible undulations at the drains. All vehicles take a beating if you're not leaning left. This is screwed up.

With urban expansion years ago and heavy construction, the old country roads got torn up very badly - huge pot holes, lost hub caps displayed on barbed wire fences and "second hand wheel and hubcaps for sale" roadside stands flourished. The further out from the cities in Texas, the more rural the roads, the worse the conditions, both for oil-slick skidding into bayous and damaging the suspension.

Can't complain. Don't know who to complain to and know it wouldn't do any good if we did.

 

[65-to-00]

Compared to NJ, PA roads have always sucked. Wife and I went to look a homes in the Yardley area while she was pregnant and she swore she never wanted to cross the bridge again.

PennDOT has never been known for rational design or upkeep ..... but then your taxes are way lower too.

There was a rumor about the construction of the concrete portions of I-95, that the craters started soon after construction, and were traced to cheap rebar from China. The cheaper steel would rust and expand way faster than the "spec" grade stuff. I remember those early days and think there is some truth to that.

Rt. 130 in NJ was one of the first concrete highways in the country and saw heavy traffic ..... I used to marvel at the lack of pot holes in a road that was over 50 years old. The bump of the expansion tar strips drove you nuts, but at least there were no pot holes.

 

[crowvet]

I noticed today while I was cruising down rt.95 that the roads here in PA really suck. There is the normal chuck between the concrete roadway slabs, but there is really uneven and 1 or 2 inche patch humps at the roadway offramps and aprons and the roads are full of patches(if you can call them that) that stick up and rattle the hell out of the vette. You really have to be careful and watch and slow down when your driving. PennDot doesn't rebuild roads anymore, They run from roadway giveout to road breakdown site. all they can do is patching where ever they go. Not a good situation at all.;help

Here in Oregon you are taking your life in your own hands. Potholes big enough to swallow your car:W

 

[zagger]

If you exclude the car swallowing pat holes, stand still traffic and law enforcement bent on solving economic problems through fines the So Cal has the best roads in the nation puke;squint:

 

[muddywaters]

Yeah, The roads in Pa. suck, worse when your in a vehicle that will tell you ,that if you ran over a quarter, you could tell if it was heads or tails........Did I say that right??????

 

[killain]

Yeah, The roads in Pa. suck, worse when your in a vehicle that will tell you ,that if you ran over a quarter, you could tell if it was heads or tails........Did I say that right??????

OoooH Yeah, you hit the nail on the head alright. I remember a few years ago the state doubled the fee for registration, the tags and for replacement or renewal of your drivers license, Oh and a increase in the tax on Gasolene. All in the name of better roads! What happened?:confused

 

[twiget]

The roads in the Portland Metro area are pretty decent year around. Though if you get out of the metro area during winter, be prepared for a lot of dirt on the roads (we use dirt instead of salt). The spring rains wash most of the dirt away, so from mid-May to late October, the roads country roads are pretty good. There are a lot of great roads going up Mt. St. Hellens, or through the Columbia River Gorge.

Jason

 

[spikebot 81]

I agree with Jason. State and County roads around here in pretty darn good shape. City streets........ take your chances. When you drive a car that feels a potatoe chip on a down pillow, smooth is good.

 

[killain]

If Hillary and/or McCain get their way with the "gas tax holiday" there will be even less money available for road repairs!!!

Well this is why this 'Gas tax holiday' really isn't too hot an idea. It's going to save you maybe $40.00 or 50.00 dollars at best. But according to the Society of Civil Engineers, the biggest threat to our way of living today is our infrastructure and of that, Roads top the list as the worst under maintained. So unless we get busy and do some big time work we're going to have more bridges like the one in Minneapolis that fell are gonna state dropping all around us. Plus with gas at the rate it's going up there's going to be less traffic, less taxes being paid. Vicious circle!:confused

 

[leftyvette]

Don't forget that there is nothing stopping the oil companies from raising their price by the amount of the tax. It could turn out that the oil companies will just make even more profit from a tax holiday. Also, the cost of the damage to our Vettes from less maintained roads could end up being more than the gas savings!

 

[quickfrc]

Absolutely terrible here in Michigan. The winter is tough on em!

 

[Patrick]

Can I introduce what's probably going to be a controversial thought into this thread?

The Corvette is a sports car- on this, we can all agree. Well, by definition, sports cars are supposed to be cars which allow one to "feel the road" more than you would in any other kind of car.

If you're driving a Corvette, unless you're rolling over freshly laid asphalt (and how often does that happen?), no road is going to be perfect. You are going to feel every rut, every pothole, every tar-patched crack.

But you're also going to feel that rush when you accelerate on a freeway on-ramp and fell yourself being pushed back in the seat. You're going to feel the cornering as you carve your way through a nice, twisty road. You're going to hear the exhaust note as you hold your shift.

I think the benefits of driving a Corvette far outweigh the discomfort of a jarring concrete to asphalt transition, for example.

We remember the ride, not the road.


-Patrick

 

[crowvet]

Can I introduce what's probably going to be a controversial thought into this thread?

The Corvette is a sports car- on this, we can all agree. Well, by definition, sports cars are supposed to be cars which allow one to "feel the road" more than you would in any other kind of car.

If you're driving a Corvette, unless you're rolling over freshly laid asphalt (and how often does that happen?), no road is going to be perfect. You are going to feel every rut, every pothole, every tar-patched crack.

But you're also going to feel that rush when you accelerate on a freeway on-ramp and fell yourself being pushed back in the seat. You're going to feel the cornering as you carve your way through a nice, twisty road. You're going to hear the exhaust note as you hold your shift.

I think the benefits of driving a Corvette far outweigh the discomfort of a jarring concrete to asphalt transition, for example.

We remember the ride, not the road.


-Patrick

I agree totally,But here in Oregon we are talking about our everyday drivers falling into HUGE potholes. Very bad road maint over the past years have put our roads here in very bad shape

 

[Chrisr]

Compared to NJ, PA roads have always sucked. Wife and I went to look a homes in the Yardley area while she was pregnant and she swore she never wanted to cross the bridge again.

PennDOT has never been known for rational design or upkeep ..... but then your taxes are way lower too.

There was a rumor about the construction of the concrete portions of I-95, that the craters started soon after construction, and were traced to cheap rebar from China. The cheaper steel would rust and expand way faster than the "spec" grade stuff. I remember those early days and think there is some truth to that.

Rt. 130 in NJ was one of the first concrete highways in the country and saw heavy traffic ..... I used to marvel at the lack of pot holes in a road that was over 50 years old. The bump of the expansion tar strips drove you nuts, but at least there were no pot holes.

Rt. 130, concrete?? Must've been before my time. Now it's paved although in some spots it's still not good. There's been a rehab of 130 over the past few years that has it in better shape now.

 

[hada68]

Roads in our area (Pittsburgh) vary from good to terrible! We cracked a wheel on the 2008 sts last month on a deep pothole. The $900+ repair bill would have paid a lot of gas taxes. Needless to say, I am very careful with the vet.

 

[leftyvette]

Way to say it!! You are soooo right!! Makes me want to turn the switch to the "Sport" mode!!!!!!

 

[skitch]

Here in South Carolina the roads aren't bad. I noticed the gas prices are cheaper than most states, $3.41 today. There are some great roads in my area, Ceasars head 276, Hwy 178 toward NC and of course 28 that will lead you to The Dragon"s Tail, Deal's Gap. The Blue Ridge Parkway is near by, its great to have a great car and good roads to drive on!