d1h
Indiana
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Joined: 07/06/2006
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Anyone drove I59 through Alabama? This has to be the worst stretch of interstate highway I've ever driven on. It is so rough and bouncy its almost impossible to go 70mph, let alone with a travel trailer in tow. Alabama doesn't seem to invest much money in their roads. They need to start spending some of that new infrastructure money.
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padredw
East Texas
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Joined: 08/11/2013
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It's been a long time ago, but it got so bad near Birmingham headed toward Gadsden that I turned off the Interstate not knowing what road I could find going north. I followed local roads for some miles before they brought me back onto the Interstate. Fortunately, the Interstate was somewhat better from that point on. I do believe that first stretch was one of the worst I have ever been on.
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Bob806
Ohio
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No money for roads, they have to pay Saban lol.
When you give up 52 points and only drop to #6 in the poll, well who cares about the roads?
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SoonDockin
Oklahoma
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Joined: 03/25/2014
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It seems to vary from state to state. Some states seem to spend more on roads than others. Easy to tell especially on non interstate highways as you cross state line from a bumpy road to a nice well laid road in the next state.
2022 Ram Laramie 5500 60" CA New pic soon
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Sold 2019 Ford F450 King Ranch (was a very nice truck)
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paulj
Seattle
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Joined: 06/11/2007
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On interstates there are several kinds of roughness.
One would be potholes, which I suspect are most common in northern states, where ice, salt, freezing etc breaks up the pavement.
Another is wear grooves caused mainly by heavy truck traffic. Some try to fix that by grinding it flat, and adding a new layer of asphalt.
The worse is tilted slabs. Again heavy trucks are a major factor. If the ride is bouncy this is likely the cause. Fixing takes more work, such as actually realigning the slabs and adding dowels of some sort to keep them aligned. I believe this was worst when the interstates were a few decades old, and most states have already addressed this.
Bridge expansion joints also need to be replaced - this may be the most common work you'll see.
Roads, and all infrastructure, are built with a design life. I've seen references to roads with built with a 25 design life, and are still be used (with patching) after 50 years. Total rebuilds are expensive, and very disruptive to traffic.
Got to a state's DOT website to see what construction projects are in the works, or have been recently completed. Alabama DOT shows quite a few, but I can't say how that compares to other states. Streetview images of I59 don't suggest anything unusual. It looks relatively flat and wide, without unusual traffic. There aren't any obvious potholes, wear grooves, or tilted slabs. Though it is possible that the asphalt overlay hides problem slabs.
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