FredMax

Tue, Feb 15, 2011 : 2:10 a.m.

Perhaps goole should build support directly into their maps with a pothole layer feature.

KJMClark

Tue, Feb 15, 2011 : 1:53 a.m.

This is another side effect of peak oil. Remember that asphalt is a an oil byproduct. As oil prices rise, asphalt prices rise, making it harder for road agencies to afford roadwork. Eventually the high oil prices in 2006-2008 raised gas prices enough to burst the housing bubble. That solved the high oil/asphalt prices, but people drastically cut back on their driving, so then the road agencies could afford the asphalt again, but their revenue plummeted, so they had a hard time paying for the roadwork all over again. Now consumption is headed back up, but that's also raising oil prices all over again. Rinse and repeat. Except this time we have higher-mileage cars (I saw my first Volt in the wild yesterday). So even *less* money in gas taxes. We need another source of revenue for road agencies, and fewer paved roads to repair. Then we can concentrate on better quality repairs on the remaining roads.

HPD

Tue, Feb 15, 2011 : 1:22 a.m.

Thank you for more and better ways to share information between drivers and road repair authorities. I remember speaking with a man who reclaims concrete from Michigan highway renovation projects. In our conversation he reminded me that the German autobahn has no such pothole problems, mostly due to a roadbed that's sufficiently thick to provide suitable drainage and prevent the pothole problem; how thick, I don't recall, at least 3 feet. The superficial infrastructures we've gotten used to in the past 100 years, roads and bridges that are bound to wear out much more quickly than in Europe, cannot be sustainable. Sooner or later, looks like later nowadays, we'll need to do what engineers have known about for a couple of generations, but the governments haven't yet been able to get us to pay for, well-engineered infrastructure. Are we getting ready to pay for what we want?

LiberalNIMBY

Tue, Feb 15, 2011 : 12:37 a.m.

Indeed, it would be interesting to pursue some of these cases of shoddy work to their conclusion. Sadly, what I imagine would happen, is that the work would either be 1) "done over" at full cost, at the expense of other projects, or 2) ignored, because government units lack the time and motivation to take contractors to court (if a job used contractors). And this isn't just a government problem--there are homeowner associations who fail to hold contractors' feet to the fire. I for one will be checking out that US-23 ramp and making a phone call. (Who is MDOT's "boss" anyway? Snyder?)

Thick Candy Shell

Mon, Feb 14, 2011 : 9:05 p.m.

This is what we get when we over do the recycling. The reason most of the pavement fails in this area is the recycled content. Anywhere else, they will not allow over 10% recycled product. Ann Arbor allows 40% recycled. Let me see, we resurface every 10 years and use 40% recycled or we resurface every 25 years with 0% recycled????? We use more manpower, more fuel and more raw materials for the life of the road. Sorry that is not a valid argument in Ann Arbor

Rich

Mon, Feb 14, 2011 : 8:56 p.m.

Driving around today I noticed a lot of loose asphalt littering Platt Road and Ellsworth. That asphalt used to be in potholes. I say, "used to be" because as usual, the gravel was sloppily placed on the holes and not compacted down. Notice in the picture above neither one of the workers have a tamper -- just shovels. Why even bother? This is a major waste of tax dollars plus increases the chances of the loose asphalt being kicked up and cracking someone's windshield. Moreover, if it snows again and the roads have to be plowed, whatever mounds of asphalt is left will get ripped up by the plows.

Macabre Sunset

Mon, Feb 14, 2011 : 8:53 p.m.

Something horrible definitely happened at the state level in the last few years. Remember the huge resurfacing of US-23 between Ann Arbor and Silver Lake Road a couple of years ago? Now that stretch is a mogul run. I don't think you'd call them potholes, but if you hit them right, you almost get air. At the rate the state is going, within ten years we won't be able to use the highways for travel on anything more sophisticated than a horse-and-buggy.

Bob Martel

Mon, Feb 14, 2011 : 8:50 p.m.

I just drove home from Ann Arbor to Chelsea. The incredible wave of new potholes reminded me of the Normandy invasion on D-Day! The only good news about pothole season is that it is shortly followed by Spring!

Jim Toy

Mon, Feb 14, 2011 : 8:23 p.m.

Reporting potholes is essential. Facilitating the reporting is a positive step toward improving our roads. I hope that drivers will pull off the highway before attempting to contact a state or local agency.

soggy waffle

Mon, Feb 14, 2011 : 8:20 p.m.

Part of the problem is that the road commission and city are largely in the business of superficial repairs. The majority of projects are just resurfacing, which is fine when the road base is in decent condition. But they aren't. We need to reconstruct them. If we want to see road conditions improve, we will actually have to pay for it. Our 'who shall remain unnamed' neighbor to the south has a 26 cent/gallon tax, and less jarring roads. It isn't the road commissions fault that they are underfunded (but shoddy work is shoddy regarding the potholes on Geddes-that's an MDOT Project).

Ignatz

Mon, Feb 14, 2011 : 7:53 p.m.

As big a fan as I am of roundabouts and other such improvements, we need to put all our road funds into what roads we already have. Once the economy turns around, we should put the increased revenue into building better roads so we can get through lean times like this.

toofmullets

Mon, Feb 14, 2011 : 7:50 p.m.

I bet this will help, the issue has always been a reporting problem. /sarcasm

Edward Vielmetti

Mon, Feb 14, 2011 : 7:36 p.m.

@cibachrome, here's an asphalt Zamboni, but probably not what you were looking for: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bluemedia1/2369149698/" rel='nofollow'>http://www.flickr.com/photos/bluemedia1/2369149698/</a> It looks like there's a company that made a one-man fully automated pothole patching truck <a href="http://rebar.ecn.purdue.edu/ect/links/technologies/civil/potholepatch.aspx" rel='nofollow'>http://rebar.ecn.purdue.edu/ect/links/technologies/civil/potholepatch.aspx</a> but the notes say &quot;Relatively high price of the equipment&quot;. Here's a 2002 report on the equipment in use <a href="http://www.leeboy.com/showcontent.aspx?id=147" rel='nofollow'>http://www.leeboy.com/showcontent.aspx?id=147</a> alas, in Hawaii at least, the equipment was useless: <a href="http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2003/Feb/26/ln/ln04a.html" rel='nofollow'>http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2003/Feb/26/ln/ln04a.html</a> &quot;Nearly two years ago, with great fanfare, the state Department of Transportation rolled out a $156,000 state-of-the-art pothole patching machine that would not only reduce the number of people needed at a work site, but would put down a more resilient layer of asphalt. The machine hasn't worked since that day in July 2001.&quot;

Bertha Venation

Mon, Feb 14, 2011 : 7:32 p.m.

Always got to watch for potholes this time of year. I can't afford new rims for my Hover-Round.

cibachrome

Mon, Feb 14, 2011 : 6:41 p.m.

Its time for some UofM Engineering and Chemistry students to develop a real time road re-pavement system that would scrape up old asphalt roadway, heat and mix with tar or plastic or epoxy or whatever, apply it back into the roadway and roll it smooth and harden it, all in 1 stretch. Lets say that such a system might be slow but overnight it could cover several mile sections of crappy roads. An asphalt Zamboni. Get to work !

Edward Vielmetti

Mon, Feb 14, 2011 : 6:10 p.m.

@Ghost - Here is the US-23 and Geddes project info <a href="http://www.a2gov.org/government/publicservices/project_management/projectsunderconst/Pages/GeddesRdUS-23InterchangeandGeddesRdEarhartRdIntersectionImprovement.aspx" rel='nofollow'>http://www.a2gov.org/government/publicservices/project_management/projectsunderconst/Pages/GeddesRdUS-23InterchangeandGeddesRdEarhartRdIntersectionImprovement.aspx</a> and contact info: Michigan Department of Transportation James Daavettila, P.E., Delivery Engineer or Daniel Garcia, Assistant Delivery Engineer Phone: (810) 227-4681 E-mail: daavettilaj@michigan.gov or garciada@michigan.gov City of Ann Arbor David A. Dykman, P.E., Project Manager Phone: (734) 794-6410 x43685 E-mail: ddykman@a2gov.org Last Updated: November 10, 2010

Edward R Murrow's Ghost

Mon, Feb 14, 2011 : 6:06 p.m.

Financial shortcomings only partially explain the decrepit condition of our roads. Last fall all of the approaches and ramps at the US23/I94 interchange were resurfaced. This morning there was, on the eastbound I94 ramp that runs under the US23 overpass, a section of roadway where a roughly 5' by 5' section of new asphalt had simply peeled away to reveal the older surface. Similarly, several potholes have developed in the newly completed on ramp from Geddes Road to southbound US 23. Both of these projects are less that 4 months old!! This is inexcusable. So, A2.cm, how about investigating: 1) Why was this work so shoddily done? 2) What, if any, mechanism exists to get the contractor to fix his work? Good Night and Good Luck