Even the American Society of Civil Engineers, whose oft-cited Infrastructure Report Card is the planning equivalent of a bartender telling you to have another drink, suggests we prioritize maintenance—and that sometimes the best maintenance might be no maintenance at all. “With construction costs rising faster than infrastructure funding,” the 2017 report says, in some places, “converting the roads back to gravel is a more sustainable solution for maintenance.”
Gravel is good. It’s cheaper than concrete and often has lower maintenance costs. It can be more easily repaired after damage from potholes or heavy vehicles. “There is nothing wrong with a good gravel road,” says the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Yeah, but I'm worried that gravel would fuck up my car. I've seen reports that concerns about that are overblown, but I'm still not thrilled at the idea of listening to the noise driving on those roads would make.
Realistically speaking, they're probably talking about country roads and small-town streets. But it is hard for us to imagine a future that's different from the present. When you can summon a two-seater autonomous vehicle to take you to Costco (if you must) and a larger one to take you home with your barge-load of groceries, you won't want your own car, or care if the vehicles that take you thither and yon have a few dings in them.
That's the vision, anyway. Most cars spend 95% of their time sitting and rusting.
A good gravel road might not be much of a problem, but I can see Cletus spraying stones behind his truck as he drives too fast along a poor gravel road, rolling coal all the while.
I know, right? The Pine Barrens , the Shad fishery book The Founding Fish and the one about the USACE, The Control of Nature are must-reads. Looking for a Ship about the last American Merchant Marine vessel is pretty good too.
Country roads 'round these parts are frequently paved with the "chip and seal" method. It works out pretty well once the loose stuff gets pressed in (or shed to the side of the road).
The road my desert compound is on is chip-sealed. It was the first "paved" road in the subdivision, so of course it got the most traffic. So much traffic that it's deteriorated. The rural mail carrier veers off-road at every mailbox, further damaging the surface. I used to care, but I'm getting closer to gone from this godforsaken place.
I haven't listed it yet, still boxing up stuff. Damn, do I have some stuff. Gonna be a big-assed yardsale, someday.
Chip-sealing used to be a maintenance procedure, not an alternative to paving. The [Great Basin Air Pollution Control District] came down hard on agencies over fugitive dust, and issued some severe warnings. Poorer municipalities came up with it as a quick and dirty solution to PM10 reduction, and it used to work OK, until the population exploded and the roads deteriorated to not much better than the dirt and/or gravel it covered…
"Perhaps it is a subsidy, but it's the only subsidy a fuckton of people, who can't afford to live with a shorter commute, can get."
Yes, but if you offer them multifamily dwellings withing city limits, they say, "Where am I gonna park my trucks? How far is it to the rifle range? You mean I can't have three dogs and a few chickens here?"
Dude, I'm on your side, and on the side of people who have to travel far to work. I commuted 65 miles each way, over a 7,352-foot mountain pass, in a Datsun B210, for three years. We've got to change the system so people don't have to live like that, because it's terrible for them and terrible for the environment.
Not sure how well gravel would work on the streets of LA. That said, we don't have room for more roads here, that's for sure.
Yeah, but I'm worried that gravel would fuck up my car. I've seen reports that concerns about that are overblown, but I'm still not thrilled at the idea of listening to the noise driving on those roads would make.
Realistically speaking, they're probably talking about country roads and small-town streets. But it is hard for us to imagine a future that's different from the present. When you can summon a two-seater autonomous vehicle to take you to Costco (if you must) and a larger one to take you home with your barge-load of groceries, you won't want your own car, or care if the vehicles that take you thither and yon have a few dings in them.
That's the vision, anyway. Most cars spend 95% of their time sitting and rusting.
At speeds over about 30 MPH, they deteriorate rapidly. Fugitive dust, washboard, chuckholes, etc. Not as glamorous as [this.]
A good gravel road might not be much of a problem, but I can see Cletus spraying stones behind his truck as he drives too fast along a poor gravel road, rolling coal all the while.
Also https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxpPL_aY190
Hovercars. That's the answer.
<img src="https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s–i3DknL8r–/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/1372272098451831110.jpg"/>
Autogyros show a lot of promise too. <img src="http://autogire.nuxit.net/Galerie_photos/Photos/Oldies/2005916212442_C30%20Autogyro.jpg" />
Hey, if it's good enough for the | United States Postal Service…|
Speaking of other things that won't happen, I always wanted one of those | Deltoid pumpkin Seeds. |
A, John McPhee. What a great writer until he got hooked on geology.
<img src="http://s.s-bol.com/imgbase0/imagebase2/large/FC/4/6/7/3/9200000033553764.jpg" />
I know, right? The Pine Barrens , the Shad fishery book The Founding Fish and the one about the USACE, The Control of Nature are must-reads. Looking for a Ship about the last American Merchant Marine vessel is pretty good too.
Country roads 'round these parts are frequently paved with the "chip and seal" method. It works out pretty well once the loose stuff gets pressed in (or shed to the side of the road).
The road my desert compound is on is chip-sealed. It was the first "paved" road in the subdivision, so of course it got the most traffic. So much traffic that it's deteriorated. The rural mail carrier veers off-road at every mailbox, further damaging the surface. I used to care, but I'm getting closer to gone from this godforsaken place.
Chip-sealing is a relatively new and much-cheaper alternative to replacing the bituminous concrete, rather than a replacement of it, is it not?
How's the sale going? Lots of lookers?
I haven't listed it yet, still boxing up stuff. Damn, do I have some stuff. Gonna be a big-assed yardsale, someday.
Chip-sealing used to be a maintenance procedure, not an alternative to paving. The [Great Basin Air Pollution Control District] came down hard on agencies over fugitive dust, and issued some severe warnings. Poorer municipalities came up with it as a quick and dirty solution to PM10 reduction, and it used to work OK, until the population exploded and the roads deteriorated to not much better than the dirt and/or gravel it covered…
One of the benefits of being divorced is that all your stuff disappears. It's like magic!
I can't say I feel your pain, having never married. I don't see that changing any time soon, and I'm too old for it to happen later.
Beat me to it by a mere hour!
"Perhaps it is a subsidy, but it's the only subsidy a fuckton of people, who can't afford to live with a shorter commute, can get."
Yes, but if you offer them multifamily dwellings withing city limits, they say, "Where am I gonna park my trucks? How far is it to the rifle range? You mean I can't have three dogs and a few chickens here?"
Dude, I'm on your side, and on the side of people who have to travel far to work. I commuted 65 miles each way, over a 7,352-foot mountain pass, in a Datsun B210, for three years. We've got to change the system so people don't have to live like that, because it's terrible for them and terrible for the environment.
And the Roadhead Lobby wants more sprawl, more homebuilding, more F-350s guzzling more gas to get there and back.
I actually cut my teeth in a backwater, Mono County Road Department. We had many more miles of dirt roads than paved.