Road Repair Sequence

[jacknbella]

Here in central IL, it's not boating season, it's road construction season. Can someone explain the reasons for the following sequence of events?

5-Mile Stretch of a 4-lane hwy (heavy morning and evening traffic):
0-2 months: dig-up every other 50 feet of concrete then patch it with blacktop
Month #3: completely strip/grind-up the top 4 inches off all 4 lanes
Months 4-6: black-top all 4 lanes and paint lines

Why waste the first 2 months patching in with blacktop if the entire road will be blacktopped in the end? Is this how our stimulus money is being spent because I've never seen this done before until 2009.

 

[drewmitch44]

Re: Road Repair Sequence

Its eather stimulus or the budget thing. If your state does not spend the money each year then they wont get it the following year! Happens here too lately. Roads that are all tore up are left alone but roads that were just redone last year are tore up and redone again this year. Makes no sence to me.

 

[_chris_]

Re: Road Repair Sequence

Alot of it has to do with city/county standards, I do alot of road work in CA and if we do work in one section we have to repave it even if we are going to grind and repave the whole thing later do to fluctuating levels. I guess people have complained enough about there car bouncing up and down a little to get them to change things. Or someone got paid to change standards.

 

[jacknbella]

Re: Road Repair Sequence

It's like wiping your butt then taking a dump...makes no sense...(George Carlin)...

 

[po1]

Re: Road Repair Sequence

Central Illonois is bad with construction this year worst I've every seen. I beat it by hitting the old state hwys when heading home. Make better time with a lot less traffic.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Road Repair Sequence

Why waste the first 2 months patching in with blacktop if the entire road will be blacktopped in the end?

Ayuh,... They're probably fixing the joints in the old concrete road Bed(Ya got Alotta them in the mid-west)....
Or maybe fixin' drainage issues....

Wasting taxpayer money is blacktopping over a Failed,+ Deteriorating road Bed,+ calling it Fixed,...
That only means it'll Fail again in only a couple of years....

Just like a House,.... Ya gotta fix the Foundation 1st,.... Then the Roof.....

 

[windsors03cobra]

Re: Road Repair Sequence

I complain about roadworks alot myself, I think tho that roadworks are alot more complicated than most of average layman understand.

The gubmint is rebuilding I-94 through my county and it is really ugly, frontage road reconstruction and moving, eminent domains and scissor ramp removal.
Our interstate infrastructure here is circa 1956 with a few repaves over those 50 some odd years.

I do love a good highway, some good ones in central IL.
Pave the planet.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Road Repair Sequence

jack, the original work began before the stimulus bill was passed.

I have a co-worker who is convinced that all the Stimulus money is being spent in Illinois. After driving to the Akron, OH area and back last weekend, he's close to being right. We seem to be getting an inordinate amount of the money. Wonder why that is?

 

[Tim Frank]

Re: Road Repair Sequence

Around here the Municipal Government Stupid-Human-Trick is ripping up the road, installing new sanitary and storm sewers, repaving, and then ripping up again in 2-3 months to install gas mains.

 

[jacknbella]

Re: Road Repair Sequence

"Just like a House,.... Ya gotta fix the Foundation 1st,.... Then the Roof....."


I kinda figured that was the case, although, it's just easier to complain since this year's road construction is taking way too much time away from my family.

 

[j_martin]

Re: Road Repair Sequence

I envisioned a road repair sequence I once went through.

Driving from Minneapolis to Kallispel.
In Western MN, notice the rear window of Astro van fogging.
Checked it out, it's transmission fluid.
Stopped in Moorhead, found a NAPA
Bought rear transmission seal, emery paper, brake cleaner, a chisel and a hammer
Found a parking space with a raised rocky bed behind the curb
Put the front of the van on the rocks.
crawled under it and pulled the driveshaft
Sanded the seal area of the front yoke
replaced the rear transmission seal.
put the drive shaft back in.
Wife tried to get a grease spot off t-shirt by laying it on the asphalt
driveway and spraying it with brake cleaner.
discarded black t-shirt with the old seal and rags.
Got back on the road with the family in about 2 hours.