Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Reason #129 why it sucks to live in West Virginia

http://www.rd.com/your-america-inspiring-people-and-stories/the-best-worst-and-deadliest-roads-in-america-the-rankings/article176005.html

One of America's top deadliest places to drive. Makes me so proud.

Also, we have interstates right now that are absurdly pot holed. I strayed into the middle part between the two lanes the other day and thought my truck was coming apart for the holes I slammed through. It bounced it around so bad I was glad I was being fairly attentive at the time. Had I been letting the vehicle drive itself like so many drivers do these days, I'd have been in trouble.

WHY ARE OUR ROADS LIKE THIS? Well, I'm glad you asked. I'm sure there are lots of reasons, but I that one of them is because of a practice I've seen over and over again this winter as I traveled the interstates at night through a whole lot of really bad weather.
Ya see, salt trucks get out on the hiway whenever it looks like snow, the first snow flake appears or the weather people warn of snow (sometimes they go into a hysterical frenzy around here when there are snow warning). Sometimes, on evening when it's be predicted to snow, they'll be lined up on certain exit ramps watching for the first snow flake.
These salt trucks spread mass quantities of salt all over the roads. The salt has qualities that cause it to deteriorate the hiway besides killing everything within 20' of the edge of the road. but this in and of itself is a minor problem. The biggest problem is that the salt truck drivers, for some reason have to run up and down the interstates with their plows dragging on the road surface no matter what the conditions. Guess what happens every time they hit a high or irregular spot in the blacktop. . . yea, they dig out a nice chunk of road surface. Add salt and water to the resulting hole and pretty soon you've got an even bigger hole.
I aint lying, we've got pot holes in our interstates that are huge. I wonder how many accidents there have been and how many vehicles have been damaged by these obstacle.

So be warned West Virginians: Be very careful driving on our interstates this time of year. It's dangerous for a lot of reasons.

2 comments:

eamoore1978 said...

Yeah, that piece between the new pavement and Edens Fork is terrible.
What's worse is the hillbilly panic when we get a dusting of snow. ZOMG FROZEN WATER!! IT'S GONNA KILL US!!!
Cinders and sand might be a better option.

Jasper flattened the tire of a customer's Porsche when he hit a pothole in Beckley the other day. He said I-64 was terrible most of the way there, too.

Anonymous said...

Makes you wonder what the state does with their part of the fuel tax????
They dang sure don't spend it on maintaining the roads!!