"When counties had lots of money, they paved a lot of the roads and tried to make life easier for the people who lived out here," said Stutsman County Highway Superintendent Mike Zimmerman, "Now, it's catching up to them."
Amid budget shortfalls, state money for local roads has been cut and so paved roads across the nation are being torn up and replaced with gravel.
"Rebuilding an asphalt road today is particularly expensive because the price of asphalt cement, a petroleum-based material mixed with rocks to make asphalt, has more than doubled over the past 10 years. Gravel becomes a cheaper option once an asphalt road has been neglected for so long that major rehabilitation is necessary."
"The moves have angered some residents because of the choking dust and windshield-cracking stones that gravel roads can kick up." But as long as higher taxes to pay for paved road maintenance remain unpopular, many municipalities have little choice.
"A lot of these roads have just deteriorated to the point that they have no other choice than to turn them back to gravel," says Larry Galehouse, director of the National Center for Pavement Preservation at Michigan State University. Still, "we're leaving an awful legacy for future generations."
FULL STORY: Economic Crisis Forces Local Governments to Let Asphalt Roads Return To Gravel
State Transportation Leaders Call for Maintenance Over New Projects
Experts suggest departments facing budget gaps should prioritize basic repairs and maintenance over road-building and highway expansion projects.
The Nation’s Most Wasteful Highway Projects
The 2023 Highway Boondoggles report is here.
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Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
Planning for Accessibility: Proximity is More Important than Mobility
Accessibility-based planning minimizes the distance that people must travel to reach desired services and activities. Measured this way, increased density can provide more total benefits than increased speeds.
World's Largest Wildlife Overpass In the Works in Los Angeles County
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In most cases, landlords must provide a just cause for evicting tenants.
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HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
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HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
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Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
