Monday, October 01, 2012
I-78 Makes Reader's Digest List of America's 7 Worst Roads
From Reader's Digest: The Pennsylvania Turnpike, I-78 and I-80 in Pennsylvania - “Vehicles have gotten wider and bigger since these roads were built, and they’re still very narrow. They’ve also got a lot of hills and curves, and people are always crossing over into the other lane when they go around a curve. Plus, their on-ramps are very short, and there’s not enough time for people to get up to highway speed. So you end up with lots of people running into the back of slow-moving vehicles as they’re getting off a ramp … It seems like they’ve been under construction forever. We like to say they have two seasons in Pennsylvania: winter and construction.” - Trucker Frank Silio, Miami
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7 comments:
A pretty accurate description
Dear Trucker Frank,
Of all the downhill spots, I/78's
Summit Lawn to Lehigh Street has got to be a top nominee. Terrible accidents and tragedies along this stretch. People need a state trooper here to maintain speed limits. An officer's presence would change things for the better.
I generally disagree. 78 in the Lehigh Valley has a bunch of hills, where trucks go slowly, but what's the alternative? It's a hilly place. After about Exit 40 or so going West is fine.
Also, I-80 is awesome. It's free and there is a little town every 20-30 minutes for a pit stop (unlike 76, which has tolls and forced rest areas).
-jblaze
The kings area is making national news weather it be good or bad. Next will be national crime statistics. The kings capt hanna conducted a drug arrest of all the users, why with all the drug activty going on in allentown no big sacks were found?
This is strange because 22 is so much worse than 78.
The reason for most of this is "AVAILABLE DOLLARS". The Federal Government"s Highway Allocation to States is "Skewed". The Southern states that don't have the winter problems we have (like pot holes stc.) enjoy a veery high financial allocation from the Federal Highway Commission because Congress set it up that way. The Northern States have to make do with much less and have a very high Highway infra-structure compared with most Southern States. There-in lies the problem. The formula must be changed. The Southern States stick together on this issue and States like Pennsylvania get screwed. We have double, triple, and in some cases, quadruple the roads than other states and get only a fraction of the Federal Allocation. When you get out of Pennsylvania, you won't see the concrete barriers (medial strips)separating the four lanes of a major highway. We as a State find it cheaper to have the concrete barriers rather than all the road maintenence. Sad but true. Example: Where can we find 800 million to a billion dollars to fix #22 to make it safe and eliminate the Parking lot syndrome we experience during "major drive times"? If the Feds don't help us it won't get done. When the Federal Highway Administration puts together there budget, the funding policy presently in place "screws" Pennsylvania every time.
Interesting that this "study" by Reader's Digest is simply an opinion story using anecdotes from drivers and no statistics to back it up.
I must agree with the comments about the federal govt. and how highway funds are distributed. Even northern states do not have the climate that PA has. Many northern states stay frozen for a good portion of winter (and southern states do not freeze at all!). PA is "on the line" where the temps frequently fluctuate above/below the freezing mark. This wreaks havoc on the roads when the moisture gets in the nooks and crannies, freezes and expands, and then thaws leaving damage to the road or bridge.
Bottom line is neither the fed or state elected "leaders" are willing to properly fund roads and bridges.
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