Video & Multimedia
Related: About this forumWhy U.S. Roads And Highways Are So Bad
Response to NurseJackie (Original post)
Hugh Bloody Bastards This message was self-deleted by its author.
bucolic_frolic
(42,673 posts)They had the best roads. White chipped marble in the asphalt. Nary a pothole. How did they do it?
State inspectors supervised construction, even of private companies. Roadbed had to be deep because of the cold climate. Inspector had to sign off at each stage. Don't know if they still go that way, but here in PA we have private contractors as well as state, and we have potholes galore. Shallow beds allow water underneath to freeze and bulge, plows scape off the peaks.
I looked at the budget process for a couple local projects, a small bridge and an emergency repair of about 1/8 of a mile. When you add in civil engineer design, supervising, presentations and construct the items - $10,000 a foot for a 2 lane road and more than a million to replace a 60 foot two lane bridge. I don't know much about it, but it seems a lot of money to me. Somebody's feeding at the government trough really well.
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)I cringe whenever I play "tour guide" for friends and family who are visiting the DC area for the first time. "Yes, sorry... these are DC's crappy roads."
marble falls
(56,358 posts)bucolic_frolic
(42,673 posts)Vermont knew they lacked the taxes to pay for things over and over again, and citizens would never support it, so they did it right the first time.
Some economist thinks sealed bids is the best system and contractors usually have work with little up and down in repair work.