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dyfhid t1_jabbux3 wrote

Then there's comparison with roads outside the US...

"European highways actually carry more traffic and considerably heavier truck weights than U.S. roads, yet they are smoother and far sturdier. European highways are designed by their builders to last 40 years; the projected life of American roads is half as long."

https://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,159579,00.html#:~:text=European%20highways%20actually%20carry%20more,roads%20is%20half%20as%20long.

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ArbitraryOrder t1_jac2qwg wrote

Part of the reason we use worse materials is because the colder climate and more snow rips the roads up faster. For our altitude we get about the same amount of snow as northern Sweden, which is absurd to think about.

https://www.severe-weather.eu/global-weather/snow-extent-northern-hemisphere-christmas-rising-usa-eu-forecast-rrc/

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akmjolnir t1_jacyit3 wrote

How much snowfall does northern Sweden get?

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vexingsilence t1_jab5pbv wrote

You're guaranteed some bangs and bucking, that's for sure. Even when they do strip and repave, it's amazing how fast they get chewed up again.

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stillfeel t1_jacq6c7 wrote

I have no actual information, but driving in NH - MA - FL for a long time. It has been my impression that NH has more stringent standards than MA for Major Highway construction. Deeper roadbeds, better stratification of stone and gravel, and perhaps thicker pavement. They also tend to have constant radius curves, especially on ramps, where MA tends toward decreasing radius curves. FL is different because most of the state is without frost or freezing which breaks down the road surface, and many of the highways are newer and flat. No snow, no salt, just heat.

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movdqa t1_jacc5cn wrote

I note this difference driving between MA and NH (I drive down to Boston about once a week). And it's been this way for at least 30 years. MA has much higher density and I think that it has much more truck traffic.

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Alternative-Cry-4667 t1_jacji3y wrote

It’s funny, because continental paved their roads too

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movdqa t1_jacmigp wrote

Do you remember when they used some kind of paint to do the lane boundaries and the pain degraded the road so that there were holes in the road on 128 and the whole thing had to be repaved?

I think that some of the MA highways are repaved every year and maybe they just use cheaper materials because they know the road is going to get repaved anyways.

I think that Route 3 from Bedford to the border is in generally very good shape but 128 always has problem areas.

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Rare_Message_7204 t1_jad8s15 wrote

I've always said NH knows how to pave and maintain roads better than our surrounding states. Nothing smoother than a freshly paved NH road.

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ForklkftJones t1_jac6g09 wrote

Once you leave NH, shit gets dicey. We already know about those CT freaks and NY psychos, but the highway gets filthy in Jersey, then the abandoned cars start increasing, if you continue south, it's maniacs who don't believe in turn signals and drug runners. If you go west, there are murderous truckers, weird smells, and maniacs who don't believe in turn signals going 80mph legally.

I do wish we had better gas stations though. We could use a Buc-ees... Anything would be better than circle k.

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Open-Industry-8396 t1_jad3xg3 wrote

Dang! I suppose I will never leave NH again after that synopsis. I'm actually quite ok with that.

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