Road Conditions Poll!

[Not George]

I took a road trip recently to Abilene KS from Denver CO and was pleasantly surprised how good the roads were in KS, both I-70 and in and around Abilene.

I am curious how Model A enthusiasts would rate the roads in their cities and towns

Rate yours, from one to 10, one being the worst and ten being excellent.

[Mitch//pa]

roads around this area philly and suburbs have to rate among the worst in the nation. they are full of pot holes from the winter and prev winters accumulated that are just patched up and not replaced. i think they are out of money here even though we have one of the highest gas taxes in the nation. its an obstacle course to take the A out for a drive and the shop is busy with bent wheels and blow outs.
RATING -1

[Terry, NJ]

Megadittoes!I'm from Jersey and I thought Jersey's roads were bad! They're are a dream compared to Pa's. The worst part is the length of time it takes Pa's work crews to get a job done! I know of a bridge ( about a 30 ft span) that took over a year to replace. Another one, a similar span took over two and one half years to finish. There's no excuse for this! Both these projects should have been done in weeks. Oh and By The Way, New Jersey has one of the lowest gas taxes, The only thing that NJ does right!
Terry

Originally Posted by Mitch//pa

roads around this area philly and suburbs have to rate among the worst in the nation. they are full of pot holes from the winter and prev winters accumulated that are just patched up and not replaced. i think they are out of money here even though we have one of the highest gas taxes in the nation. its an obstacle course to take the A out for a drive and the shop is busy with bent wheels and blow outs.

[SeaSlugs]

hmm IL... really depends on where, ive been in some small towns where the roads are a 8/10,

Peoria, Il has gotta be a 2/10 though. alot of the roads are the blocks of concrete that have buckled over the years so they LOVE to cut out the buckled section to pour a 3 ft wide bock of new concrete that creates 2 more bumps in the road!

the rest of the roads are either washboarded and can see the tire ruts/grooves when your going down it, the others have 40,000 asphalt cold patches on them combined with more potholes.

interstates seem to be OK, theres a stretch of I55 thats utter crap though. (blocks of concrete)

major highways down around me are prolly a solid 8-9/10 so where you would take a model A its pretty good, just avoid the cities...

[klawockvet]

I just drove from CA to MO on Interstate 70, pulling my Model A in a trailer. The interstate system is in sorry shape. Once in Missouri I started west on secondary roads and county roads, mostly dirt. The secondary roads in Kansas and Nebraska seem better than the interstates. Its been a few years since I took the dirt roads west along the Pony Express Trail but many of those dirt roads have been improved with crushed rock and grading. I am having a wonderful time ticking along at 40 to 50 on the dirt county roads. I'm seeing the country and the roads as they looked back in the days of the Model A. I was a bit worried about the damage to the car from a couple of thousand miles of dirt roads but the experience is worth it. I'm not that far along but maybe I will post the road conditions as I continue west.

[Tom Wesenberg]

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Wisconsin has some of the best roads I've seen. Both the interstate and the country roads that I've travelled have been excellent. Another nice thing is Wisconsin has country roads that are ideal for Model A trips, and the traffic is very light on them.

On the interstate you do have to be watching for deer though. I travelled about 300 miles through Wisconsin a few weeks ago and I must have seen a dead deer every mile of the interstate.

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Originally Posted by Mitch//pa

roads around this area philly and suburbs have to rate among the worst in the nation. they are full of pot holes from the winter and prev winters accumulated that are just patched up and not replaced. i think they are out of money here even though we have one of the highest gas taxes in the nation. its an obstacle course to take the A out for a drive and the shop is busy with bent wheels and blow outs.
RATING -1

Our city streets are quite good, when some A**HOLE rear ended my scooter & splattered me ALL OVER the street, I don't remember encountering any POT HOLES! Worse thing was the pavement RASH, all over. While they were holding me down on by back, I wuz glad it wasn't AUGUST I now have 2 long, beautiful, TITAJIUM screws in my knee & lurnin' how?? to walk agin. The Dog sez I shuld lurn to spel
Bill W.

[theHIGHLANDER]

I'm in S. E. Michigan and bad roads are a given. Not the whole state, but Metro Detroit has to be in the bottom 10 in the nation. Garbage, holes damn near big enough for people to live in, the residents simply moan about it and keep using em as-is. Monroe, just a mere 30 mi south of Motown, has recently been going to pot (holes), but they do seem to be on the mend in many areas. I pick where I drive my A pickup based on condition. There's a few shorter routes in rural Monroe but the road conditions can take all the fun out of it. I even pick my routes in my daily drivers based on bumps, With a GMC dually, an H3 and a Jeep Grand Cherokee there's little boulevard comfort afforded from behind the wheel. In another observation, I did say rural which to me means that many times you have the road to yourself save 1 or 2 fellow motorists within sight. I love those that are behind me and stay in the lane that's beat to death vs getting up on center where it's smooth and easier on the suspension. I have to wonder, how many called the cops on me for improper lane usage? For the record I've even centered my vehicle with cops in the rear view and guess what, they do it too. Michigan roads suck, it seems they always have, probably always will. Further discussion might get political and we can't have that...(!)

[mshmodela]

You can thank the salt from under lake erie... that is likely spread on your roads....

[Del in NE Ohio]

Roads in NE Ohio (particularly greater Youngstown area) are worse than Bagdad. Back to back record winters, declining tax base, and the State of Ohio is no help Columbus is too busy building a "rainey day fund". It's pouring here! To the point that emergency response times are even affected.

[31 Woody]

Southern California roads require a modified grading system. The roads are a 9-10 depending on where you are. The idiots driving on them are a 2-3 at best. I had four Harley's split me yesterday, two on each side on a hill with a double yellow, and I was signaling a right turn at the time. The traffic in general ranges from a 4 to a negative 4 on a +1 to +10 scale. The postive 4 is when traffic is going 80, the negative four is when it is going 50. When it is stop and go or slower than 50 it is ok. When going 80, people actually seem pretty respectful from my experience and slow down enough to give a thumbs up. When going 50 people get antsy and drive like jerks.

[dwollam]

I agree with TheHighLander. We were in Detroit Michigan last summer for the 100th anniversary of Dodge Brothers. Never seen roads so bad! Several bent rims on old DB's and at least 1 broken vent window from hitting holes. Even rumors of finding a couple of smart cars in the bottom of a big hole! However, we found everyone there very friendly and loving the old cars.

Dave

[31Abone]

Last year in Arizona I-40 going east from Kingman is a sorry P. O. Crap tons of trucks..old route 66 is much better..I-5 downtown LA is very bad..eastern Sierra roads 395 etc are good and Nevada roads seem to be OK.

[CarlG]

We have 2 seasons here. Winter & Construction. Roads they "fixed" only a couple years ago are needing it again.

[LopezCarguy]

Oregon has wonderful roads, taxes to make it happen...