New weight restrictions (Monroe, Penn: Valentine's day, house, buy)

[fisheye]

Is this happening in your County: “Since June 1, PennDOT has announced new weight limits on nine Monroe County bridges, bringing the total number of bridges with weight limits up to 41 — including a new 19-ton limit on the bridge that carries Route 191 over Brodhead Creek north of Analomink.” This is part of a Pocono Record article that ran in yesterday’s paper.
The reason I am asking is because of the problems, that all of us can have, from reduced bridge weight limits. I know that many will say: “My car doesn’t weight 10 or 19 tons“. However, if your house is burning and you need a fire truck; they might not be able to take the shortest route. Maybe you want to build a house - but; the heavy equipment needed is too heavy for the bridge it has to cross? Maybe you need topsoil on your lawn - but; the truck is too heavy to deliver? Maybe you need to move in or out and the large moving trucks cannot legally get to your residence? Think of all the goods and services that you buy and where they come from. It all boils down to costing you more and taking more of your personal time.

[frank754]

Since we have been here, my wife says the roads are very poorly maintained and full of potholes compared to other places she has lived. Does PA have a very poor road budget that they have to downgrade things as you say, not being able to even keep the former status quo?

[fisheye]

frank754,
Pennsylvania is messed up. I have lived here for 63 years. We had several governors that did nothing to maintain our roads - you did not even see a road worker. I don’t like the current administration - but; I do see more work being done.
However; then there are still politics. This is an important election year. Our incumbents want the voters to have a smooth ride to the polls. We love to throw a very thin layer of asphalt over old cracked asphalt and concrete. It last only until the spring - then it will wait till the next election to be repaired.
Today; government is broke and they don’t have the money to correct all the ills of the past. Also; they do not know how to let go of past practices.

[Magritte25]

My mom has a picture from one of our vacations. It's a picture which shows a "Welcome to Pennsylvania" sign and a TON of construction right past the sign. LOL

[fisheye]

Magritte25,
If it was up to me (it isn’t) I would replace PennDOT with OhioDOT. They seem much more proficient at their job than what we do.
It sounds as if your mom has a very good picture of our State!

[Magritte25]

She does! Now that was taken back in 1988! So PennDOT is infamous for their "work". Haha!

[fisheye]

Magritte25,
In the early 1970’s; I watched 11 highway workers fix one pothole on one of our local State roads. It took all day for a three foot pothole.
They used to sleep behind my business. When it rained; they never came out of the local shed.
I am sure that they did have some good workers - I just never saw them.

[bldginpa]

Last week, I did see some improvements being made to Rt. 390 near Promised Lane State Park. Not sure exactly what they were doing, but I'm hoping it leads to a resurfacing. That road is in terrible shape in many places.

[KarenRice]

It was not improvements, they dug more trenches and filled them with gravel. The road is one big rumble strip. Rt 390 is a DISGRACE! As much as I'd like to blame this all on Fast Eddie The Pig Rendel, he's just following in the footsteps of his predecessors when it comes to roads. Except that time when he cut the budget and the Valentine's Day Storm left many roads unsalted and uncindered...

Magritte, that picture sounds hilarious....sad but true....lol

[fisheye]

bldginpa, KarenRice,
I hope that you get your road paved. However, if they do; I do not expect them to do a great job. This election year they are putting down asphalt that looks like a hybrid between chip and oil and a thick black paint.
Many of our secondary roads used to be chip and oil. Chip and oil traditionally was put down in several layers and rolled - that made a great road. You don’t see the big rollers anymore when they apply this kind of surface.
Even the traditional hot mixes go on very thin today.
We do not need planed obsolescence when it comes to our roads. We need to get out there, fix them right the first time and get the heck out of the way.
PA loves to talk about our highway worker’s safety - but; they expose the workers too long to traffic. The quicker and more proficiently that get the job done; the less we expose workers to traffic. About a decade ago; I had a chance to exchange e-mails with the head of highway construction in Tennessee. I had asked him how fast they laid asphalt (I knew they were very fast). He told me that, in an average 10 hour day; they mill and replace five miles of asphalt fifteen feet wide. New Jersey also replaces asphalt quickly and at night during the off peak hours.
My contention is that we should imitate the best practices of other states.