Road "Page" Western States

[Laurel62]

Three quarters of the way through a 31/2 week trip starting in San Diego and going through Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and back through Wyoming we arrived at the Colorado border on I-25 where we encountered some of the WORST road conditions that we have ever experienced! We have traveled highways, byways, back roads and city streets and nothing compared to the condition of Interstate 25 from the Colorado/Wyoming border all the way through Colorado Springs. Construction every 10 miles and we couldn't determine what they actually repaired as we bumped, swayed and rocked! The road transition at overpasses was extremely uneven and shook the Bambi down to the rivets. We pulled over at Colorado Springs to check for popped rivets. Avoid this road at all costs and if you can't, batton down the hatches! Let us know your thoughts.. On the road to Taos NM
Mark & Laurie


Sent from my iPhone using Airstream Forums

[m.hony]

It's just as bad in the south, southwest, east, and north.
U. S. Highway 82 and U. S. Highway 49, Interstate 20, and Interstate 55 here in Mississippi are just plain bad. In a recent trip through Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Ohio the roads were just as bad- U. S. Highway 72, Interstate 65, Interstate 71, and Interstate 75-
Interstate 40 is bad through Tennessee and Arkansas.
Interstate 20 is bad through Louisiana and Texas.
I can't wrap my head around how these roads have been under construction my whole life and they never seem to finish.

[Laurel62]

Amen to that!


Sent from my iPhone using Airstream Forums

[Laurel62]

The best roads were in the Dakotas, Montana and Wyoming


Sent from my iPhone using Airstream Forums

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by m.hony

I can't wrap my head around how these roads have been under construction my whole life and they never seem to finish.

The theory of highway design could fill a textbook. And it has, more than once. But distilled to the bare-bones, it takes ten years from the time a traffic study determines that a new road is needed until that new road is built. At least ten, if everything goes well. And by the time the new road is built, the original study that justified the new road has proven to be completely erroneous, because the traffic disruptions due to construction have become so ingrained that traffic patterns shift accordingly and invalidate the original findings.

So by the time construction is done, it's time to start over and do it again based on a new traffic study. It's the civil works perpetual motion machine.

[Landrum]

We took our first big trip this summer to The Black Hills from Little Rock. Of the 3,330 miles I think only a handful were Interstate miles, and we had very good luck with road conditions and traffic on the highways. Although we did enjoy the sites a fear of rough Interstates was a big part of the decision to use highways almost exclusively.
In planning that trip I thought it would be great if there was a map app where road conditions could be reported/logged by users.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by Landrum

In planning that trip I thought it would be great if there was a map app where road conditions could be reported/logged by users.

Have you looked into the 5-1-1 system? Not all states have instituted it yet. For instance, Louisiana has a partial system. You can't access it by dialing 511 from your mobile phone (yet), but you can go online at Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development to get the information that will evenutally be available by phone. Other states should have similar websites.

For states that have fully implemented the 5-1-1 system, it should do some of what you're looking for. It may not be able to tell you which roads have a crappy surface, but it will tell you where construction is ongoing and which roads are closed, with just a phone call.

[Landrum]

No...I didn't know about that system so thanks.
I think folks pulling RV's are more sensitive to road surface/condition....I know I am. Sections of interstate I think are fine in the car become terrible when pulling the AS. It would be nice if the RVer's perspective on road condition could be easily captured and documented.....