doctorpcar

Just like the percentage of gas prices which are taxed, going right into the roads.

Quite frustrating. It's also weird that some of the wealthiest areas in Westchester, NY and Fairfield, CT have the absolute worst roads, and yet they also have the highest concentration of automobiles north of $75k in the Northeast. I don't get it.

vladie22

guys, come to Florida ! its mostly flat with no good turns but the roads are completely smooth and virtually no potholes.

chuckla

A sore subject. Washington streets have been third world-like forever. But strangely, they seem good compared to Montgomery County, MD roads, especially in the the Potomac and Bethesda areas. Many of them (try Seven Locks Rd between Democracy and Bradley if you want to test your suspension) border on dangerous if you don't know the problem spots. Worst of all, the federal roads have become a joke. The GW Parkway is patched amateurly and threatens the lives of those of us who drive over 50 mph on it. The Clara Barton is starting to get there. Oh, the Beltway has some nice holes too.

zizu

Northern Virginia roads are pretty good. When they get in bad shape they just replace the whole section of the road. They are building a lot of bridges too to improve traffic. I pay a lot of taxes though, including steep property taxes on cars.

My best experience though is in France. The roads (all of them!) are smooth as glass. They are using this new asphalt too that absorbs moisture and rain instead of draining it so the roads last longer and when it's raining it doesn't affect visibility. You pay for it when you stop at the toll on their highways...

No wonder all the British car/motorcycle mags test them in France...

E55AMG

A sore subject with me. The roads in the tri-state area are like a war zone. But what do you expect? You see 5 road "workers" and 4 are standing and watching while the other drops a shovel of tar in the hole and says "done". Yeah, that'll fix it. It's a joke.

We can put a man on the moon but can't figure out how to build a road that doesn't constantly fall apart?

Lblackman

"in 2005, the Federal Highway Administration estimated it needed $375 billion to fund repair and improvement projects" ... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20095291/

You're not going to get that kind of $$ from surcharges on 19 inch wheels!

Let's face it ... the US infrastructure system is shattered! The lack of funding, maintenance and new development is threatening to push the US economy into third world status.

LCB

waiting for PDK

It's very bad this year in Chicago due to the large number of freeze/thaw cycles--ideal pothole creation. There was an article buried in the news here a couple of weeks ago that the city had reviewed automatic pothole filling machines. (We currently have the big Streets and San. trucks that require four union guys to stand around watching one shoveling.) The new machine was a one man truck that measured and filled potholes using lasers and an automatic asphalt dispenser of some sort and was four times faster in terms of potholes filled per hour. It was rejected... I wonder why?

jsmirand

Arizona roads are generally in descent shape, with the warmer dry climate being easier on our roads. There are some great drives in Northern Arizona amongst the pine trees that are a pleasure to drive (during the Summer).

During the Winter, Southern AZ is wonderful.

1999Porsche911

I wonder why the news networks never do a report on where the more than $100 Biliion in annual fuel tax, toll road and related property tax revenue goes every year.l If in fact that went to maintan and build roads and bridges, we afford to use diamond tipped mile markers on all the highways.

An example of waste: 40% of the Illinos Toll Road revenue goes solely for administration expenses. No business venture could survive under the same senerio.

Le Chef

Most of the problems are down to a "Patch it" mentality, rather than have the brain-power to fix the problem for good. You could argue that the smart thing for major cities to do right now is let the road system rot to discourage people from driving at all...

nyca

NJ isn't bothering to fill potholes this year - "punishing" its citizens for being so bold as to oppose 800% toll increase proposals to fund state worker pensions.

Rick in Colorado

Two years ago I rode my Harley cross country. Going through Chicago, I hit a pothole so severe that my engine died immediately. It turned out that the impact broke a ground wire that was routed through my frame.

doctorpcar

Maybe they can start with the money taken from the gas tax, instead of using it on, uhm, other things.

doctorpcar

Looks like you beat me to the punch on that point.

MichaelL

Please do not damn the engineers that designed them for the condition of the bridges and highways. We designed them to meet standards that were rigorously determined from analysis and testing. Deferred maintenance and usage far beyond the service life are the problem. The new roads and bridges that were needed were not built. The taxes on fuel that were supposed to go to the highways were often diverted to general funds. In many cases, the bridge tolls are used to subsidize mass transit, but mass transit is also shortchanged because the cities and states reduce their funding. Bridges, highways and mass transit are all really hurting from lack of funding for repair and upgrade.