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06-13-2008, 12:43 PM
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Michigander in Exile
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Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Formerly from Michigan
2,583 posts, read 1,114,160 times
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Do other states have Michigan's road problems?
While I was stalled in road construction today  I wondered: Is the whole summer= construction season a Michigan thing? An upper midwest thing? Do other states have as big a problem with potholes and road repair as we do?
Mackinac
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06-13-2008, 01:14 PM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Charlevoix
514 posts, read 440,884 times
Reputation: 239
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I dont know. All I know is its wonderful to be away from all the noise and construction and cement. 95% of the roads I drive on are dirt...and I like it that way
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06-13-2008, 01:19 PM
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clear the way!
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Join Date: Jan 2007
1,676 posts, read 1,122,634 times
Reputation: 448
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mackinac81
While I was stalled in road construction today  I wondered: Is the whole summer= construction season a Michigan thing? An upper midwest thing? Do other states have as big a problem with potholes and road repair as we do?
Mackinac
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Nope. Michigan ain't the only state. I think Massachusetts as has road renewal projects since the 1970's. I swear since I been driving every year there some type of road work fooking up traffic. Seriously it never ends. New Jersey is no prize either though not as bad as MA. the only semi-good thing is that now they try to do most of the work in the evening say starting at 7pm. But it still a major hassle alot of the time.
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06-13-2008, 01:33 PM
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Stranger than fiction
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Join Date: May 2008
Location: In the state of denial
5,216 posts, read 1,860,977 times
Reputation: 1867
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mackinac81
While I was stalled in road construction today  I wondered: Is the whole summer= construction season a Michigan thing? An upper midwest thing? Do other states have as big a problem with potholes and road repair as we do?
Mackinac
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It depends on how much they spend on roads. One of our problems is they went several years without proper maintenance so we're making up for lost time. When you live in the freeze-thaw cycle belt, you have to keep up on the roads. Mother nature wins every time.
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06-13-2008, 01:52 PM
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Member
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Join Date: Oct 2007
40 posts, read 38,656 times
Reputation: 16
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Chicagoland/Northwest Indiana always has construction going on. We also have those LOVELY tolls too. : (
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06-13-2008, 02:59 PM
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no speak english
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Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Miami, FL
1,108 posts, read 788,938 times
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It is all states that get a wide range in temperature. Cement isn't made to take the ice because it gets in the cracks and expands.. think of putting a pop can or glass in the freezer, check it in a day and its cracked. The same goes for the streets. Basically the entire midwest :P
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06-13-2008, 03:43 PM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: May 2008
Location: Chicagoland
1,193 posts, read 643,739 times
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The news stations in Chicago always have something about if you see a pothole to report it to the city. Some areas are really nasty with the huge potholes. Of course there is also never ending construction.
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06-13-2008, 05:05 PM
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no speak english
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Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Miami, FL
1,108 posts, read 788,938 times
Reputation: 271
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Grand Rapids also does.
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06-13-2008, 07:49 PM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Jul 2007
2,492 posts, read 1,450,013 times
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One issue is that the Detroit metro area has an awful lot of lane-miles per resident compared to other metro areas, due to the nature of its sprawl. So it takes longer to rotate roads around the maintenance cycle. By the time they are maintained, they tend to be in fairly bad condition, and have to be at least partially rebuilt, which requires more delays and time.
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06-13-2008, 07:57 PM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Dec 2006
365 posts, read 317,827 times
Reputation: 160
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States with a lot of semi-truck traffic...
States like Michigan that have a lot of semi-truck traffic on major interstates coupled with freeze-thaw cycles in the winter get a double whammy for construction. I-94 that runs from Chicago to Detroit and is a heavily traveled route for big trucks; it always (and I mean always) has construction on some part of it. Also, there is need to widen some of the routes in Michigan, such as one of the north-south routes, 23, which is jammed with trucks and cars due to unchecked sprawl and development with no planning. Mucho accidents on 23 all the time, and perpetual construction. The metro Detroit area also has no "ring road" highway going around it to use as a bypass, as other large metro areas do, so the roads are much more heavily used and therefore in constant need of repair.
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