Uncategorized

Potholes are in the news, twelve months out of the year – which defies the popular perception that potholes are simply the result of winter freeze-thaw cycles. In some cases, the newsworthy potholes of summer are holdovers from six months prior, but even winter-free tropical regions get chuckholes from moisture, solar heat and traffic wear and tear. This is the pothole report from the summer of 2010. It was a…

We call them “potholes.” And when we hit a particularly deep, jarring one, we may refer to them as %@!*ing potholes. These abrupt breaks in pavement come in all shapes and sizes, cause thousands of dollars of damage to cars, trucks and buses, and they’re a growing fiscal problem for local, state and national budgets. But where does the name come from? Folklore has it that the famous road builders…

With 10,000 miles of the state’s roads in poor condition, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell thinks it should raise a billion dollars in new revenue from taxes on drivers and oil companies. In an interesting twist, he wants to legally bar oil companies from passing along their increased costs to consumers. For the lame-duck (term limited) Democratic governor, it may seem a move rather late in his eight-year tenure. The state’s…

Chamber members’ clients rely on more than a safe roadway to travel from home to a business for the service or product they seek. They also rely on household income to make their purchases. In light of current legislation, not only do transportation funding woes jeopardize your customers’ safe travel, newly introduced woes jeopardize customers’ pocketbooks with trickle-down effect from higher user fees. Here’s what’s going on with transportation funding,…

Some potholes are just little cracks. And some could swallow an Escalade. Which is kind of the point: potholes grow bigger the longer they are left unfixed. They are almost alive.

Anyone who ever leaves home knows the problems with roads, highways, parking lots and driveways. Most aging pavement in America, due to use, time and neglect, is in dire need of asphalt repair. But highway maintenance is so lagging that many people assume it is a losing battle. That assumption is wrong. Fixing any kind of pavement, public or private, as it begins to show the signs of deterioration proves…

Advertising Age magazine reports (May 31, 2010) statistics from the U.S. Department of Transportation that show an overall decrease in driving by Americans under the age of 30. For example, in 1978 no less than 92 percent of 19-year-olds had a driver’s license; by 2008, that number slipped to 77 percent. The magazine also reports the share of miles driven by younger people has fallen over the past 15 years.…

American highway construction and repair is dependent on the Highway Trust Fund, which is largely generated through taxes on auto and truck fuel consumption. The tax has risen significantly in the past 30 years, but fuel taxes imposed by the Federal government date back to the Depression era. This is a primer on how the gas tax works, where the money is spent, how gas taxes were used to reduce…

Proposed commuter rail projects in Florida – SunRail (SR), linking Jacksonville with Orlando, and the Florida High Speed Rail (FHSR), which would connect Tampa with Miami via Orlando – offer a future vision of green travel in the Sunshine State. But several questions need to be answered before billions of dollars are spent to build either or both lines: (more…)

(more…)

Are these two interests in conflict? America’s 196 million motorists want smooth pavement and dependably flowing traffic. About 20.9 million people actively bike, about five percent of whom (1 million) use their bicycles to commute to work. Yet, as scarce federal transportation dollars are divvied up, some call for a full 10 percent to be allocated to accommodate bicycles and walkers. (more…)

Staten Island "The "pothole blitz" is set to kick off soon to get an immediate jump on Island roads that that are already flattening tires and dislodging hubcaps at an alarming rate." (more…)

Visit two websites allowing drivers to pin-point potholes in their area. (more…)

As States Turn to Pavement Preservation, Road Repair Methods Improve The economics affecting road building and road repair in the current economy are pretty straightforward. Costs for everything are up, funding is down – and road disintegration continues its natural course, unabated. (more…)

Pavement Preservation a Smart Road to Better Economies A highway network is a lot like the human cardiovascular system. Good pavement and minimal construction zones keep a local economy moving, healthy and growing, but potholes and slow-moving construction projects are like plaque – they render regional commerce sclerotic. (more…)

The problem is all the old streets and highways. But thanks to the SHRP program, better fixes are here. Man first went to the moon 40 years ago, and today Space Shuttle flights are commonplace. Scientists are beginning to grow spare body parts from stem cells, and the computing power packed into our cell phones continues to evolve at a dizzying pace. So why are there so many problems with…

Introduction: If it's not broken, don't fix it.  It's a popular cliche that, in the current economic climate especially, holds significant bearing on how people spend their money.  In an attempt to stretch dollars already spent, there is a tendency to postpone maintenance until the last possible moment.  For example, a car driving down the road with squeaking brakes.  So long as they aren't grinding, the driver is content wearing…

The Pavement Condition Index is a numerical index between 0 and 100 and is used to indicate the condition of a roadway. It is widely used in transportation civil engineering. It is a statistical measure and requires manual survey of the pavement. The Pavement Condition Index (PCI), developed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, is based on a visual survey of the pavement and a numerical value between…

Debunking 3 of the most common excuses to not address a pothole problem Introduction: We've all seen them, we all hate them, and we all know the damage they can do. Still, potholes all too often are left unattended, leaving commuters vulnerable to serious damages, and in turn, serious repair costs. Below are three of the most common excuses to not address pothole problems. All of the scenarios below are…

Yes, it’s hard to laugh when you’re faced with a car repair bill of $400 caused by a surprise pothole. Some people even suffer physical injuries from hitting a street crater, so of course no one is making light of that. But potholes are inevitable. Laugh we must. (more…)

There are nearly 3.95 million miles of public roads in the United States , valued at more than $1.75 trillion. The NCPP will provide a valuable resource to help educate others about the benefits of pavement preservation. It can enhance pavement preservation knowledge through research and assist owner agencies to establish effective programs. These programs extend pavement life and improve motorist safety and satisfaction while saving public tax dollars. Click…

Spend 20 minutes watching TV news and you’d think the biggest transportation problem today is the auto industry. Bailouts, bankruptcies and acquisitions by foreign companies command the lion’s share of media attention – enough so that we forget about another very expensive transportation problem affecting virtually every driver in the country. (more…)

As motorists, the pothole is one of the most notorious foes we encounter.  Fabricated from nothing and created by no one, the elusive pothole manifests itself with a certain subtlety wherever it pleases and wreaks havoc indiscriminately on those unfortunate enough to cross its path.  Like a lion stalking in tall grass, the pothole waits, with unsurpassed patience, for an unsuspecting prey to fall into its trap.  (more…)

In 2009, GEICO began a series of commercials featuring talking inanimate objects doing damage to cars. So far, they have used a talking tree limb falling on a windshield and breaking it. The tree limb makes fun of the car right before a smaller limb falls on the hood. The next one is a talking pothole with a thick southern girl accent causing a flat tire. The pothole somewhat apologizes…

Quaker State motor oil recently began a marketing campaign asking consumers “Who has the world’s worst commute?” Forgiving their willful ignorance to include Cambodian motorbikes and Parisian pedi-cabbers, Americans have apparently come forward with some horrific feats of daily strife. Twenty-seven miles in two hours another with forty in three. Ridiculous mileage – years spent motionless in traffic. (more…)