Why can't we have nice freeways in CA?
 

I always hear about how horrific the roads in California are, particularly the LA area. I'm talking in terms of condition, not just logistics.

I don't understand that. I mean, I kind of get it in the northern states where you have freezing weather continually causing issues. In Florida, our roads are generally top notch from my perspective. Potholes are pretty rare and generally quickly patched. Our highways are in almost all in very good condition. Most of the worst roads to drive on are made that way intentionally by adding speed humps or brick pavers to slow down drivers.


Are California roads as shitty as I seem to think? If so, given the complete lack of snow and almost lack of rain or other weather that should cause serious deterioration... Why?


[Edit and on-topic: I approve of this measure.]

Because they have a billon more cars traveling them vs the other, much less busy states.

Not in my experience. In fact, the major highways in the more populous areas of SoCal (San Diego, LA, and points in between) are in excellent shape- both the interstates (I5, 8, I10, I15) and the state highways.

I honestly can't imagine why anyone would complain about the quality of the roads here, in terms of their physical condition. Yes, grooved concrete is a bit different from what most people are accustomed to, and some vehicles (esp. motorcycles with sticky tires) track it a tad, but you certainly don't see the sort of hellecious disrepair (potholes, eroded shoulders, etc) which is common with ashphalt highways in regions subjected to freezing and salting.

About the only structural "defect", if you can call it that, is that the pavement can be a tad wavy in some areas. This is just the nature of the beast when living in an area which is subjected to frequent earthquakes of moderate intensity. The ground itself does move around from time to time, and the surface of the roads moves with it.

When it gets really bad in one area, they always come out and re-grade it with a device that's sort of like a huge planer. This leaves a slightly rough surface behind, but it doesn't really cause any problems in terms of vehicle stability / control, it's just a tad noisy as the tires roll over it.


Now, the condition of the local streets varies greatly from one location to another, depending both on age and on the relative wealth (in terms of tax base) of the city. In many of the older neighborhoods of southern SD county, the local roads can be in fairly rough shape (cracks, unevenness, etc) due to a combination of old age, lack of maintenance, extremely high traffic volume, and seizemic activity. By comparison, the wealthier areas tend to have local roads which are in extremely good condition, and are re-graded and resurfaced at even the slightest hint of a problem. Here in Carlsbad, you could roller-skate down the streets.

Leave it to Joe to bring objective common sense to the topic. I totally forgot about seismic activity - it makes sense that would cause more trouble than heavy rains.

I was probably referring more to the local roads, like videos I have seen of Mulholland.

Or maybe I have no idea what I am talking about.


Either way, one more reason to never live where it snows. High five?

My biggest beef is the left-lane campers, not the road conditions. (OP was about the new anti left lane camping bill in NJ)

Then your thread title and original post failed if the goal was to discuss left-lane campers. Because there was just a link and no commentary, other than the vague title which referenced California, we were left to run amok.

Aiding and abbedding the mayhem was your lack of a location in your profile. For some reason, I thought you were in Texas, not California.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1372284591

I'm running amok.

I've always faulted Florida's roads because of the relatively soft aggregate used in the hot mix asphalt (HMA), the high plasticity of the limestone base material, and the sandy sub-base material. These conditions, combined with the increased plasticity of HMA when subjected to the common summertime temperatures at this latitude, yield entirely too much rutting and shoving of the pavement. Georgia, in contrast, has a significantly better quality interstate and state road system due to the ready availability of granite aggregate for HMA and base courses, and often the presence of good, hard clay sub-base.

So the link's text "Left-lane highway hogs could see fines double for failure to move over | NJ.com" wasn't descriptive enough for Scrappy?

P.S. the thread title is unfortunate, I was thinking of using the meme "..can't have nice things"...

I hate left lane campers to no end. When I was heading home from Vlads a couple weeks ago there was a 45' RV cruising down 99 in the fast lane. Now 99 does go down to two lanes for fairly long stretches. But this stupid son of a bitch was in the fast line right out of the city where there seems to be 8 lanes in each direction. And the people that get passed by 15 cars to the right that all get back in front of them and they still don't get the hint should just have their license revoked. CA implemented a new law a couple years back of having to move over a lane, or slow down when you see emergency personal on the shoulder, IE; CHP, Cal Trans, etc... they don't even enforce that! I find myself changing lanes all the time, I actually signal I am moving into the fast lane, make the pass, and move back to the right lane.

Then there are the stupid fucks that are merging onto the freeway at stop and the end of the on ramp with their turn signal on!? That is not how you merge! Or, I like these ones better, they will get on the freeway jump across all lanes of traffic to get in the fast lane and camp, regardless of how fast they are going or how fast traffic is coming up on them.

/end rant.

So if NJ can do it, why can't any number of other states?

Well, yeah. But that's because Molesto.

Move outta the sticks. :D

List of States: State "keep right" laws
Rick Scott doing work: http://www.news-press.com/article/20...-out-left-lane

:laugh:

So i'm a bit confused here. You can get a ticket for going over the speed limit.. say 70 in the 55 or whatever it is... and you can also get a ticket for going 55. If everyone is going 55 in the middle and right lane then whats the deal with the left lane?

Tell me that's not what you call it too.

I actually know someone who's from Molesto that calls it that.

Having said that, Molesto is where people from Fresno and Bakersfield go when they want to get away. :dealwithit:

I'm in the nutSac of CA.......Not the best by any stretch of the imagination, but definitely better than the 3 mentioned above lulz

People from Bakersfield are already pretty gone, dude.

But I am not from Molesto, I am from Oakdale. It is better, it is called the "Cowboy Capitol of the World," I personally think it should be renamed to "lifted truck capitol of the world."

There is no "fast lane". They are all fast lanes. Some of them are also "passing lanes". Changing the collective American thought patterns by using better terminology would at least be a step forward. Everyone venturing onto a highway anticipates they will be going fast and would therefore be entitled to the fast lane. Not everyone always sees themselves as passing.

I drive flat out....10/10

come at me broz

You know I do too bby :makeout: especially when you're in the car tuning, I feel like I have to show off for you...

:laugh:

Right.

And I'm not a serial rapist, I'm just overly amorous.

Now that this thread is about the quality of US infrastructure, I thought I'd keep it going:

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1372441638

[quote]

Article:
DIW: Weak Infrastructure Investment Threatens German Future - SPIEGEL ONLINE

In Nor Cal, what I've noticed is the right lanes are always the ones that are just bumpy as all hell. Perhaps the big rigs and what not are causing them? :dunno:

A: Big Rigs and significantly higher right-lane vehiclular traffic make it bad
B: Significantly longer highway life expectancy than the northern states means the wear surface (asphault) does not get regular lifecycle replacements nearly as often
C: Since california gives all of its revenue away to the lazy, it has none remaining to do actual government things such as scheduled freeway maintenance.

Move to an actual "northern" state for a few years. You'll stop complaining about bumpy freeways when the alternative is chronic construction zones.

This.

Having spent time in Cali, I'm convinced those complaining about the roads there have never driven outside the southwest. Every road in NH/MA is either shit, under construction, or hasn't seen a winter ... like the woman in MA.

And too think I plan on running 12k monoflex on the street. :party:



-Zach

Yup.

I lived in Cincinnati for 5 years. I left in 2005, and sometimes I still look back and say to myself "I wonder if the 275 is STILL under construction after all these years..."

And then I remember that, since 275 is a loop, it will NEVER be finished. When they finally wrap around to where they originally started the resurfacing project, they just keep right on going and rip it all up again.

That's one thing that really impressed me about driving in Germany for a while.

In the midwest/northeast US, when they want to work on a section of highway, they'll close down a whole 20 mile stretch, rip it all completely to shit, leave it sitting unfinished throughout the entire winter, and MAYBE finish it the following year.

In Germany (at least, in lower Saxony), they seemed to take a different approach. They'd tale a half km section, shut it down, blitzkrieg the hell out of it, then re-open it and move on to the next half-km section. So there's never more than a small interruption, and the public gets to see continual signs of progress.

so true:giggle:
:laugh: again so true