Absolute worst highway award goes to…

[Kim Gass]

Originally Posted by Marcm157

I have to agree with you on this. Between the perpetual construction with surprise Lane closures, left,then right, then left again. To the ruts and just pitiful road surface it gets my vote. We will be traveling it again this July - I can hardly wait...

Another vote for that miserable stretch of road.. I hate it.. But the alternative for us is going via 287 to 95 and that horror.

[CAG]

I have not found a "good" stretch of road anywhere. They are all bad at one time or another.


I complain about I40 through NM always being in some stage of repair but overall it is better than other states. Texas used to be good and now it is not. Oklahoma is always bad, especially from Texas to Kansas in the panhandle. You would think as many speeding tickets as OHP gives out there it would be better.



The major problem with most of them is large trucks. I am not ragging on commercial trucking. We would not survive without it but poor road construction along with overweight trucks destroy roads in one season. Ice, rain, snow start potholes that turn into major canyons in short order.



It is good therapy to complain but it really does little to no good.

[Midnightmoon]

For those of you with children or grandchildren, you will probably recognize this clip. This conversation reminds me of this scene from the movie "Cars".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEcBHcxlhQM

[LuckyDuck]

[QUOTE=Route 66 Traveler;1048791]

Originally Posted by LuckyDuck

I will never curse the higher California gas taxes. At least the money goes onto the roads. QUOTE]

You gotta be kidding. As much as you are getting ripped off by the cost of fuel, the roads should be paved in gold!

Compared to that stretch of I-40, they are! Actually, diesel in AZ isn’t much less than California. Definitely not worth wrecking your trailer.

[Bugzilla46310]

Originally Posted by Route 66 Traveler

Worst roadway ever? I agree that stretch of road is pretty bad, but other parts of I-40 have recently been repaved, such as the stretch from Ash Fork to Flagstaff. East of Flagstaff it is actually pretty good.

One suggestion, if going East from Kingman try the old Route 66 from Kingman to Seligman. No up and down hills, no trucks, no potholes and it's a very scenic drive. The road itself is in pretty good shape compared to I-40. Even has the old Burma Shave signs along the way. It's a bit longer drive, but much more relaxing.

The last time we ventured into California we made the mistake of going from Bakersfield to Sacramento on US-99! It was much worse than I-40 and even the semis were swerving trying to miss the potholes. On the return trip home we tried using I-5 and that was even worse, plus much more truck traffic all going way over the speed limit.

The worst roads we have ever experienced was a trip a few years ago going through Oklahoma City on I-40, both East and West bound. We had to slow down to about 45 and weave our way around the worst pot holes. It was terrible and we were just thankful we didn't drive that stretch at night.

So, what should be done? The amount of taxes we pay from the purchase of fuel is SUPPOSED to go into the highway fund for road maintenance. Why isn't that money being used as it should be? Who is responsible for diverting those funds into other uses? There needs to better accountability in the spending of tax payer dollars, not only for the roads, but in all State and Federal programs. The highway system should be top priority.

Whenever we go camping, I always try to take a different route home and try to make sure some of it is not expressways. Expressways are nice for time but you miss so much of this great country.

[gunafulltime]

We don't want to take long trips anymore thanks, in no small part, to the roads. They beat the crud out of your TV and trailer. For us it is a worrisome, unpleasant experience.

[SloPoke]

As we look at the overall road conditions, the amount of revenue the fuel tax generates is one factor, but explain why Nevada roads are in much better shape than their surrounding states, with these tax rates in mind:


Arizona $0.18 / gallon
California $0.511 / gallon
Colorado $0.22 / gallon
Nevada $0.23 / gallon
Idaho $0.32/ gallon
Utah $0.319 / gallon

[SloPoke]

Originally Posted by gunafulltime

We don't want to take long trips anymore thanks, in no small part, to the roads. They beat the crud out of your TV and trailer. For us it is a worrisome, unpleasant experience.

And miss out on all this???

.

[Route 66 Traveler]

Beautiful photos....where were they taken???

If you think the roads are bad today, the next time you visit Kingman stop in at the Powerhouse museum and look what they were 100 years ago. Travel then, not only in Arizona, but from the east coast to west coast was actually a life threatening challenge.

A few bumps in the road won't stop us from enjoying the freedom to travel.

[gunafulltime]

Originally Posted by SloPoke

And miss out on all this???

.

That's beautiful! What a blessing to have those times!

Yes. We won't be doing much, if any, of that anymore. We've had a life full of incredible adventures. We know all about it. The condition of the roads and our country make it much less desirable for us. Honestly, it's lost a lot of its luster. The roads are but a symptom of the perilous times in which we live. We'll treasure our memories and be blessed in new ways and more regional adventures.

Thank you for sharing your awesome pictures! Stay safe and enjoy your time!

[Onyrlef]

Originally Posted by SloPoke

As we look at the overall road conditions, the amount of revenue the fuel tax generates is one factor, but explain why Nevada roads are in much better shape than their surrounding states, with these tax rates in mind:


Arizona $0.18 / gallon
California $0.511 / gallon
Colorado $0.22 / gallon
Nevada $0.23 / gallon
Idaho $0.32/ gallon
Utah $0.319 / gallon

It's not necessarily the taxes, but what they do with the revenue which matters.

[SloPoke]

Originally Posted by Route 66 Traveler

Beautiful photos....where were they taken???

Soapstone basin Utah, Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest <6 days>
Sunset - same campsite as described above
Jackson WY, Flat Creek in Teton-Bridger National Forest <7 days>
Yuba State Park UT, Yuba Lake Primitive Camping <4 days>
Anvil Draw, Flaming Gorge Reservoir Manila WY & (UT) <8 days>

[klinner28]

Easy for me. I-95 between Rt26 and about 10 miles from GA border...

This one specific stretch has caused:
- vanity mirror in bathroom to fall off
- sconces to fall off
- bike carrier straps to fail and a bike to fall off

Been through bad roads but this one stretch always cause damage.

[Kim Gass]

Originally Posted by klinner28

Easy for me. I-95 between Rt26 and about 10 miles from GA border...

This one specific stretch has caused:
- vanity mirror in bathroom to fall off
- sconces to fall off
- bike carrier straps to fail and a bike to fall off

Been through bad roads but this one stretch always cause damage.

That one is bad too but IMO not in first place.. Come up to 81. We do both. PA DOT has been mismanaging funds for years.

[Yooper906]

Originally Posted by klinner28

Easy for me. I-95 between Rt26 and about 10 miles from GA border...

This one specific stretch has caused:
- vanity mirror in bathroom to fall off
- sconces to fall off
- bike carrier straps to fail and a bike to fall off

Been through bad roads but this one stretch always cause damage.

I've posted this before, but until you have ridden in a trailer towed on a rough road, you don't have any idea what's going on back there. I only did it for a customer once, and it was, well , amazing. It's nothing like riding in the back of a class C or A. Way noisier, get to listen and watch things flopping around like fridge doors etc. It's actually a wonder that the plumbing lines and electrical connections stay almost together.

[Bookemdanno]

For me it’s I-20 thru Shreveport , LA every year when we make our trek to FL. I’ve lost 3 center hub caps on my Ram driving thru that stretch over the years!

[Forester2]

For Interstates for me 94 in N Dakota is pretty brutal. 90 in Indiana just about as bad with ridiculous 40mph speed limit in miles long stretchs of construction with no construction. Heavily patrolled too.

[Jagiven]

Recently I-90 east bound in Minnesota had a really bad section when it was rebuilt probably 15 years ago, somewhere west of Albert Lee. The outside lane was so bad, DOT, had a sign put up saying to drive in the inside lane. There was no potholes, the outside lane just bucked you bad. A couple years back, it was torn it up and rebuilt it. It is much better now.

[craigav]

I thought about creating a thread about the best highways to travel, but as I thought about it, I don't think there is any... ~CA

[Bugzilla46310]

Maybe when they contract out the construction or repair of the road they need to include a clause to maintain it in an as new condition for 10 years, instead of giving the build contract to the low bidder. They will soon realize that if they spend a little more initially, the maintain costs would be minimal.