Roll up the pavement: Gravel is making a comeback

[Hannah Bell]

"Do we really need to keep getting fancier? This is also about quality of life," said Richard Beal, a selectman in the town of Cranberry Isles, Maine, population 118, which got its first paved roads in 1960s but is considering ripping some of them up rather than spend the $500,000 or so he said is needed next year to fix them...

Paved roads are particularly susceptible to deterioration in cold-weather states, where they take a beating from freeze-and-thaw cycles and road salt. Ultimately, potholes, cracks and heaves can make a paved road dangerous to both car and driver.

The idea of turning a beat-up road into gravel isn't totally new. But with tax revenue plunging off a cliff because of the economy and asphalt prices doubling over the past three years to $400 a ton, rural towns are increasingly looking at gravel.

States have gotten federal stimulus dollars for roads and bridges, but local municipalities have, for the most part, been left in the dust.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091217/ap_on_bi_ge/us_back_to_gravel;_ylt=Aj2gTSGXNkcU5AD.J93Uj9Gs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTNtaGJzOWN0BGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkxMjE3L3VzX2JhY2tfdG9fZ3JhdmVsBGNjb2RlA21vc3Rwb3B1bGFyBGNwb3MDMTAEcG9zAzcEcHQDaG9tZV9jb2tlBHNlYwN5bl9oZWFkbGluZV9saXN0BHNsawNyb2xsdXB0aGVwYXY-

[Blue_In_AK]

1. I thought your meant Mike.

:rofl:

[malaise]

5. +1

So did I. I love Mike Gravel. What a feisty old man.

[Toasterlad]

6. +Me. And At This Point, I'd WELCOME That Crazy Old Bastard.

I'd gladly hand him the keys to the White House, and tell him to do whatever the fuck he wanted.

[scarletwoman]

8. Me too! He's one of my heroes!

I was all excited... :D

[HysteryDiagnosis]

2. We wouldn't need either if we could develop lighter than air

automobiles. I doubt this can be done though.

[onethatcares]

3. hell, they could recycle old tires and smash them into a road surface

puts a whole new meaning on "when the rubber hits the road" plus it would turn into a green thing. Use recycled glass, recycled tires and some binder, you'd have a road that would flex and grip tires.

[tonysam]

4. I thought this was a Mike Gravel thread or something

:)

[Liberal_in_LA]

7. gravel makes for bumping driving but better than nothing.