Washtenaw County road workers shouldn't have to play 'Frogger' when fixing potholes
I'm wondering what the official policy is for repairing potholes on Washtenaw County's highways. I'm guessing that two workers scooping and dumping loose asphalt by shovel, darting onto the highway between traffic, during rush hour, while their truck is parked precariously on the shoulder is not the official process. I have observed this a couple of times recently during my morning commute into Ann Arbor.
I will guess that it is too costly in today's environment to have an arrow truck behind these workers alerting drivers to merge out of the lane well ahead of the danger. But is it really too costly to save the workers’ lives or those of the drivers trying to dodge them at the last minute?
I really think this game of highway maintenance "Frogger" is irresponsible on someone's part. Aaron S. Tanner Chelsea
Comments
swcornell
Mon, Feb 6, 2012 : 7 p.m.
In Europe they actually have one of the heavy roller vehicles following to pack it into the hole!
dotdash
Sun, Feb 5, 2012 : 3:54 p.m.
I was thinking that "Whack-a-mole" was also an apt description of how pothole repair is being approached....
joe.blow
Sun, Feb 5, 2012 : 7:48 a.m.
That's because the roads are so under-built that they can't shut them down to repair them. If they were 3-4 lanes, then they could shut them down to fix them.
grimmk
Sun, Feb 5, 2012 : 5:14 a.m.
I often wondered what was the thinking on putting loose asphalt into patches. Instead of a dip now we have a hump and with multiple ones the road isn't any better (think Carpenter). Then bits of the asphalt get kicked around and make the roads worse. Some even got into the tail pipe of our family car once and it created a whole mess of trouble. Patches are a waste of time and money. Just FIX IT. Save what you would have been spending on patches and put it towards a total rehaul of the road. Don't save money on a quick fix or the cheapest material/contractor.
Jim Osborn
Sun, Feb 5, 2012 : 4:57 a.m.
These patches often get removed by the first snow plow. In California, "Men At Work" signs alert drivers to workers. THey are removed when no workers are present so they do not "cry wolf".
MRunner73
Sat, Feb 4, 2012 : 10:58 p.m.
If the job is being done that poorly, then it is not worth doing. It appears that there is virtually no effort into this type of patch work and is a total waste. Yet, a hike in the gasoline tax is in the works for road repair. If this is what they have in mind, they can forget it.
bunnyabbot
Sat, Feb 4, 2012 : 9:53 p.m.
I notice this too, I have seen people start changing lanes only to quickly return to the first lane b/c they didn't see the men when they started, it is altogether dangerous, cars traveling at speeds of 60-70 (often more). It doesn't seem safe or an effective way spreading the material. I am surprised that unions or all the gov't agencies like OSHA think this is appropriate, apparently those orange vests and helmets have magically abilities or something. (no way saying drivers shouldn't be aware, just seems like a dangerous game of chicken)
Adam Jaskiewicz
Sat, Feb 4, 2012 : 9:07 p.m.
I've noticed this too. And with the cars hitting the loose asphalt thirty seconds later, most of it ends up scattered across the highway rather than in the hole.