The Worst Roads in America

[duaneage]

PA always blames the cold weather but upstate NY gets worse winters and I think their roads are better. Having ridden a bicycle across BOTH states I think I am a good judge of road conditions.
if you think their bad on a GS, try it on a bike with skinny tires and no shocks.

[earlfor]

Well, if you would hold the speed down to 55 or less on that Schwinn, the bumps wouldnt be so bad. :-)

Earl

PA always blames the cold weather but upstate NY gets worse winters and I think their roads are better. Having ridden a bicycle across BOTH states I think I am a good judge of road conditions.
if you think their bad on a GS, try it on a bike with skinny tires and no shocks.

[duaneage]

Highest speed attained on a bicycle in New york State:
59 mph between Watkins Glen and Tyrone

Highest speed attained in Pennsylvania:

61 on route 16 going into Mcconnellsburg PA

Highest speed EVER attained on a bike:

72 MPH on a road in Hong Kong that ends up at the new airport there.

I do wear a helmet but at those speeds it doesn't help much.[-o<

[wolfie]

As per Concrete Producer magazine, that I read now and again when I'm at the plant and not on the road, Kansas City, Mo has the worst roads of any city. I once heard on the radio that Louisiana has the worst roads of any state. I went to New Orleans for my honeymoon 5 yrs ago, and I found the roads to be far better than in Kansas City. To be fair, most of the roads more than 100 miles away from KC seem to be pretty good. According to the article in Concrete Producer, it would take $11 billion more dollars per year nation wide to mainain the roads at their current poor condition. It would take $26 billion more dollars anually to make an improvment on our roads.
If you think it sucks riding a motorcycle on our roads, try driving a loaded concrete truck weighing in at 72,000 lbs, with a high center of gravity, fluid load. There is a stretch of 69 highway north of town that is so narrow that one day when driving, I was driving with my right wheels on my white line, and an oncoming 18 wheeler was driving on his white line, and our mirrors made contact! There is no shoulder on this road and the edge of the road is dintegrating. Add to that the knowledge that if I allow my bridge axle (the one on the very rear of a concrete truck that comes down when you are carrying a heavy load) to go off the edge, it will push the truck into a high speed sideways skid ... Scary
Everyone likes to gripe about the roads, but noone wants to pay the tax increase necesary to improve or even maintain our roads.

[duaneage]

Everyone likes to gripe about the roads, but noone wants to pay the tax increase necesary to improve or even maintain our roads.

Most people would not mind paying the bill, it is just that most people have an impression that the money is wasted or stolen away. But that is a subject for another day.

[omaharj]

The condition isn't terrible but the drivers are,I-80 through Omaha during rush hour just terrifies me. I've used it twice to get home-no more. There's no safe place,5 lanes each way with on-off ramps every mile,people doing 45 in the far left lane,some doing 80 weaving in and out,I'm a wimp!:shock:

[wolfie]

Most people would not mind paying the bill, it is just that most people have an impression that the money is wasted or stolen away. But that is a subject for another day.

Very true.

[Bert Patterson]

PA always blames the cold weather but upstate NY gets worse winters and I think their roads are better. Having ridden a bicycle across BOTH states I think I am a good judge of road conditions.

I’m not that familiar with PA roads, but I do know that about 6 years ago they enacted a pretty large funding package, with increased regs and gas tax, to do some serious maintenance.

And I’ve had a lot of experience with upstate NY roads and they’re better than most.

There are three things that are primary in determining the condition of roads – construction method/depth of bed, truck traffic, freeze/thaw cycles. NC roads don’t require the same depth of bed that WI roads require, nor do they face similar freeze/thaw cycles. Canada has greater depth of bed, still plenty of truck traffic, but they also have deeper freezes – slower and deeper cycles – which leads to less volatility in the road surface.

Cars do virtually nothing to a road bed. The damage is done by big trucks – hence when they whine about their road taxes, they should just be dismissed as whiners. Weather has minimal impact in the south and the far north. The greatest weather damage is in the “buckle-belt”, which would really run right across PA, but well into NY as well. Much of NY – say, north of the thruway, would experience less severe freeze/thaw cycles, than would, say, Binghamton.

Anyway, it’s reasonable that greater truck traffic and the buckle-belt are the primary culprits in PA having crappier roads than upstate NY.

Maybe??

[Billy Ricks]

Cars do virtually nothing to a road bed. The damage is done by big trucks – hence when they whine about their road taxes, they should just be dismissed as whiners. Weather has minimal impact in the south and the far north. The greatest weather damage is in the “buckle-belt”, which would really run right across PA, but well into NY as well. Much of NY – say, north of the thruway, would experience less severe freeze/thaw cycles, than would, say, Binghamton.

With the damage they do and the way they drive these days if they don't like the taxes they pay on their rigs let them build their own roads. It's getting to where here in Texas just about everytime there is a freeway accident a big rig is involved.

[themess]

Bert P. wrote: "Cars do virtually nothing to a road bed. The damage is done by big trucks"

Double-bottom rigs became popular about 20 years ago. Iowa prohibited them, because roads deteriorate faster with double bottom rigs than with separate rigs. Trucking lobbies get Congress to cut off highway aid if double-bottoms weren't allowed, because Iowa was the only state between the coasts that didn't allow them on I-80. IMHO, most of this traffic should be on rails anyway.

"The greatest weather damage is in the “buckle-belt”, which would really run right across PA, but well into NY as well."

Freeze-thaw cycles are the problem. Again, I-80 through the Midwest is about as bad as it gets.

As far as bicycles go, I once rode across Kansas on a bicycle, and spent most of a day on a road that had been corrugated prior to repaving. 105 psi in the 28mm wide tires. It's almost enough to make vision blurry.

Wolfie wrote: "There is a stretch of 69 highway north of town that is so narrow that one day when driving, I was driving with my right wheels on my white line, and an oncoming 18 wheeler was driving on his white line, and our mirrors made contact! There is no shoulder on this road and the edge of the road is dintegrating."

30+ years ago, a friend drove a moving van for a couple of summers. He found US 69 north of Kansas City to be the worst. The road apparently hadn't been widened since the 30s. When modern trucks passed, it was necessary to put the right wheels on the curbs that were still on the road at the time. The curbs were nightmares, since a vehicle would tend to overshoot either going on or off of them. And on bridges, the right hand mirror had to be over the railing to keep from smacking mirrors as Wolfie recounts.

Tom

[Jethro]

There's no safe place,5 lanes each way with on-off ramps every mile,people doing 45 in the far left lane,some doing 80 weaving in and out,I'm a wimp

I find the solution is to go so fast it makes everyone else seem like they are sitting still!

[DanTheMan]

Gotta put a bid in for Northern Minnesota. Some of the waterfilled potholes are going to be stocked with Trout this spring. -Pete '80 1100L

Ya, You betcha! I thought someone was going to park a fishouse on a couple of them. :-D

[Hoomgar]

There has been a lot more road construction and repair in PA in recent years Bert. I have to admit they are doing better.

[Pjax]

There has been a lot more road construction and repair in PA in recent years Bert. I have to admit they are doing better.

Now that they have the 25 year project on 15 north of Harrisburg done they should be able to get to some of the other roads. Don't get to down on Pa. it still has route six and it's one of the best motorcycle riding roads in the country.

[gliscameria]

Ohhh

Western PA. They have a tendency to overrate the roads so big rigs can go on em, and you can tell by the ripples at stoplights and bottoms of hills. Throw in some ice and salt and you have a lovely mixture for fun holes and cracks.

Ohh, north of Denver can be pretty scary too!