Broke Counties Turn Failing Roads To Gravel 717
To save money, more than 20 Michigan counties have decided to turn deteriorating paved roads back to gravel. Montcalm County estimates that repaving a road costs more than $100,000 a mile. Grinding the same mile of road up and turning it into gravel costs $10,000. At least 50 miles of road have been reverted to gravel in Michigan the past three years. I can't wait until we revert back to whale oil lighting and can finally be rid of this electricity fad.
Flying Car Argument (Score:4, Funny)
This is why we need flying cars, if we all had flying cars we could save trillions on not having to pave roads and not having to maintain gravel roads. We could let roads go back to nature.
Re:Gravel roads are cheap but need more maintenanc (Score:5, Funny)
You mean like in the Dakotas, Wyoming, Nevada, etc where the majority of roads in rural areas and some of the state highways have been gravel?
I'm old, I remember when big stretches of Highway 63 in South Dakota were still gravel, as was Highway 73 south of Faith
Re:Gravel roads are cheap but need more maintenanc (Score:3, Funny)
Exactly! If you drive fast enough, your tire only hits the high points of the ruts....BRILLIANT!
Re:Gravel roads are cheap but need more maintenanc (Score:5, Funny)
We motorcyclists just love gravel. What with the dust, the bad traction, it's just wonderful!
Really? If I had any idea it was so easy to get all the Harley's out of my neighborhood I would have proposed this years ago.
Re:Gravel roads are cheap but need more maintenanc (Score:3, Funny)
You probably remember when Old 16 was just 16. ;)
Re:Gravel roads are cheap but need more maintenanc (Score:2, Funny)
Was that just a reverse car metaphor? You just blew my mind...
Re:Crazy Administration blame game accusations (Score:3, Funny)
No wonder our state budget continues to be screwed (massive corruption aside) and we have one of the highest State tax burdens around
Somehow, I think the abundance of traffic circles is to blame.
Re:Gravel roads are cheap but need more maintenanc (Score:3, Funny)
So I suppose Flat Tracking isn't your style, eh?
Re:Not the only cost... (Score:5, Funny)
Ah, well, there's your problem. This is Michigan. There no longer is any commerce, so no need for fancy-pants roads. The Romans had nice roads, didn't they? Look what happened to them.
Re:Gravel roads are cheap but need more maintenanc (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Michigan is fucked (Score:5, Funny)
As a NE Indiana resident, I can assure your that her policies have resulted in positive economic growth.... in NE Indiana....
Re:Gravel roads are cheap but need more maintenanc (Score:5, Funny)
You should vote repub... , no wait demo...
Say, which was the small government party again ?
Re:Gravel roads are cheap but need more maintenanc (Score:3, Funny)
Where I grew up we ate gravel and were happy to have it.
Re:Gravel roads are cheap but need more maintenanc (Score:5, Funny)
You know, I like to help you here guy. I'm sympathetic, I really am. But you've got to understand my position. It's just not possible to recognize motorcycles as legitimate road vehicles.
I mean sure, no ones got a problem with big Harley's. But lets think for a moment about where this is leading us. Plastic exteriors motorbikes, dirt bikes, scooters ?! Jesus! Sooner or later, someone is going to stand up and argue that electric bikes be allowed on public roads and form there it's one small step to honest to Gods pedal powered bicycles! This is how slippery the slope is right here.
I mean, the dangers of the road are bad enough. People cutting you off, lane changing, bodywork scratches, stop signs, pedestrians just throwing themselves under the wheels, spilled coffee, etc. Now you're asking be to accept those heathens on their clacking, greasy, hell spawned bare metal contraptions as legitimate road users?! You expect me to slam on the brakes so I can have the privilege of crawling along behind these slugs for five miles until they get another puncture? Because I sure as hell can't pass their wobbling asses without another "incident" occurring where their either wobble off the embankment and I get a ticket or else their spoked hate mobiles eviscerate my paintjob and get irreparably tanged up in the undercarriage. I swear the assholes just do it on purpose.
No. No, I'm sorry. I'm not going back to that. Never again. My hands are tied. I'm sympathetic, I really am, but my hands are tied.
Re:We have an even cheaper way to make gravel (Score:5, Funny)
Just drive on the roads until they crumble.
That's what they do, but unfortunately the roads don't have the decency to crumble uniformly, with some parts turning to potholes and others staying sound.
The obvious conclusion, gentlemen, is that we need shoddier workmanship so it all goes to hell simultaneously. DOWN WITH QUALITY!
Re:Gravel roads are cheap but need more maintenanc (Score:5, Funny)
By "Big 3", do you mean Toyota, Honda and Fiat?