Sonoma County is testing turning paved country roads in need of major work into dirt roads in an effort to save money. Lake and Mendocino counties have done the same, and an interesting story in the Minneapolis Star Tribune newspaper shows that many Midwestern states are turning country roads into dirt or gravel. Here’s an excerpt:
“Paved roads are starting to disappear across the Midwest. Local officials, facing rising pavement prices, shrinking budgets and fewer residents, are making tough decisions to regress. In some places, they have even eliminated small stretches of gravel road altogether.
“Michigan has changed more than 100 miles of pavement to gravel. After one road was torn up, the County Road Association of Michigan bottled the millings and asphalt and sent them to state legislators as a message.
“In North Dakota, a couple of stretches nearly 10 miles long already have gone to gravel along with a sprinkling of smaller patches. South Dakota may be the Midwest’s most torn-up state. A state transportation official estimated 120 miles of pavement have been ground up or left to crumble.”
To read the full story, CLICK HERE.
To read a past Road Warrior story about the local dirt road test, CLICK HERE.
Karen
You’re not seriously comparing the traffic in Sonoma County, California to that of North or South Dakota, are you? Have you been to either state? There is NO, NO, NO comparison to the amount of traffic on roads here than traffic on roads there. I spent 40 years in the Midwest in those states. Many times late at night, I would be the only car on the road–Interstate. Has anyone EVER been the only car on the road in Sonoma County? Come on.
March 28th, 2011 11:24 am
sheryl
Is this supposed to make us feel better about the waste of our monies?
March 28th, 2011 11:25 am
Bici
As a cyclist I can’t wait for the gravel to return. Nothing more fun than riding yor bike on a gravel road. That little bit at the top of Sonoma Mountain is great.
Bring on the gravel!!! I’ll drive slower, deal with the dust, whatever, but there’s nothing worse than asphalt roads in disrepair. Let them go completely to gravel or maintain them…
March 28th, 2011 12:40 pm
Safedriver
I wondered about this decades ago. Roads were built like crazy and I suspected maintaining them all down the road was not even a thought at that time. The chicken’s come home to roost now.
March 29th, 2011 2:38 pm
Safedriver
Time for us to move up to hover crafts then we don’t need road maintenance.
March 29th, 2011 2:42 pm
USCitizen
If Sonoma County didn’t waste so much money on entitlements we would have a lot of money to fix our roads.
March 30th, 2011 8:36 am