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How good are American roads?

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193 points chmaynard | 1 comments | 20 Nov 24 14:45 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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smilekzs ◴[20 Nov 24 17:24 UTC] No.42196192[source]▶
The SFBay I-880 and US-101 are always packed, often under construction, but still pothole-filled, with sections of extreme roughness. Compare this to our OR neighbors, where there are signs saying "your tax dollars at work" by ORDOT everywhere. I used to scoff at this as a display of insecurity, but apparently (from TFA at least), Oregonians' tax dollars _are_ at work.

CA takes so many tax dollars from my hands. Why aren't they "at work"?

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1. ink_13 ◴[20 Nov 24 18:03 UTC] No.42196561[source]▶
On the contrary, I believe they are. There are thousands of miles of back roads in California built and maintained by Caltrans that are in absolutely incredible condition. Drive up and down any random mountain/hill/pass off a main freeway and enjoy a road the envy of almost anywhere else: well-built, smooth, with painted lines and signage.

880 and 101 suffer because their high traffic volumes cause much higher wear and tear while also making it difficult to make repairs.