One of the better County Management ideas I have heard in a long time
Someone who gets it. From Michigan television station
WWMT:
Rural Mich. counties turn failing roads to gravel
Some Michigan counties have turned a few once-paved rural roads back to gravel to save money.
More than 20 of the state's 83 counties have reverted deteriorating paved roads to gravel in the last few years, according to the County Road Association of Michigan. The counties are struggling with their budgets because tax revenues have declined in the lingering recession.
Montcalm County converted nearly 10 miles of primary road to gravel this spring.
The county estimates it takes about $10,000 to grind up a mile of pavement and put down gravel. It takes more than $100,000 to repave a mile of road.
Makes perfect sense. Even if a paved road is little traveled, it is still subject to frost heaves and erosion and will need to be repaired from time to time. An oiled gravel road is just fine for driving -- a little dusty in the dry heat of summer but you can lay down another coat of oil and fix that. Potholes and frost heaves are fixed in an afternoon with a grader and a truck full of gravel and not with hugely expensive paving equipment.
The comments for this post are a hoot to read - frothing on both sides of the fence...
Posted by DaveH at June 13, 2009 5:59 PM