Road Problems...?

I have lived in a variety of climates and states over the past 10 years. Some I have liked and some I have not. Let’s take Indiana as one example. I lived in Merriville Indiana. I worked about 2 miles from the Southern shore of Lake Michigan. The weather was less than hostipitable in that area. With many months of sub-freeing cold and snow/ice on most of the roadways; it was a continual cycle of construction. One thing that was used was salt to clear the roads. They use that in Massachusetts where we have lived also. Salt, as we all know, makes steel rust. Even if it is painted, it will rust. They have to be very vigilant in this duty in the northern environments and states. Just use the Golden Gate Bridge as an example. They have to keep it painted or it will rust.

The roads stay torn up die to the continuous expansion and contraction from the freezing/thawing process. I remember seeing rebar in the concrete roads that was rusting due to the cold/salt/thaw process going on. So let’s look at the bridge that collapsed in Minneapolis was a very tragic event. They gave out warnings that the bridge needed repair and that it had stress fractures. Given the environment that it is in: over water, up north, cold/hot/freezing; it is no wonder that it fell. It is just a wonder that more have not had this happen. It appears that America’s infrastructure is in need of some major overhauling.

In Massachusetts we lived about 62 miles from Boston. That state has the worst roads in the US in my opinion. You get free windshield replacement if you live in that state due to the road conditions. We lived in a cul-de-sac that had pavement sidewalks. When the snowplows came to clear our road, they would tear up the sidewalks and roadway. Just think about this on a concrete road that is uneven due to settlement or the roadbed, expansion and contractions due to weather both hot and cold and the added salt to help erode the surface.

In Colorado, the state uses a liquid de-icier called Magnesium Chloride to pre-treat the roadways to keep them from icing over if the temp is above 16 degrees. This solution has less of an environmental impact on the surrounding plants and animals as well as not tearing up the pavement or causing metal to corrode. Perhaps we should all look at how the roads in our area a maintained especially if you live in a colder climate. If we fail to do this, we may see a repeat of this happening soon.


What is your opinion?