Wednesday, February 13, 2019

They Have What We Need

     Okay, look, I have to be at the doctor's office super-early and I'm really not a morning person.  So this thing is pre-recorded and set to go out at about the usual time.

     Still, this is kind of kewl, apt or at least super-ironic: the streets of Indianapolis are falling apart faster then the city can keep up -- and they have been trying; last count had something over ten thousand potholes filled so far this winter.

     And now, this year's World Of Asphalt (not to be confused with alt.pave.the.earth) trade show is in Indianapolis!  Yes, this is a place where you can go see massive machines that crawl down a street, chewing it flat, mixing various magical things with the rubble, and laying it back down better than new; a show where marvelous new formulations vie with one another and future is...well, dark, smooth and faintly steaming, with any luck.

     Perhaps the very magic wand the city needs will be offered; with my luck, they'll need to raise taxes to buy it.  H'mmm, replace tires and wheels twice a year or pony up more real-estate and/or downtown food and fun tax?  It's a lose/lose, but one is more scooter-friendly.

4 comments:

fillyjonk said...

Huh. So there does exist a town with worse roads than mine? I have on occasion felt the need to apologize to my car after not being able to avoid (or just not-seeing; I go to work in what feels like the middle of the night some times) our massive potholes. And more than once I've checked the rims and what I can see of the undercarriage to be sure no damage was sustained once I get to a safe parking place.

And we don't even get ice or snow here! I don't know what tears up the streets so badly but they're awful.

John Peddie (Toronto) said...

You've made the big time:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/12/us/potholes-snow-weather.html?login=email&auth=login-email

FrankC said...

The road resurfacing companies should be invited to demonstrate their machines and materials properly.
"You each pick a 10 mile stretch and we'll see whose surface survives longest."
Might work. Be total hell for a day though.

waepnedmann said...

There are at least three journals (one that claims international readership) published regarding paving, aggregates, and binders.
The journals are usually found in the waiting rooms of general engineering contractors and suppliers of aggregate.
Who would have thunk that such folks would require waiting rooms?
Much more interesting reading than the usual fare such as People and Men's Health magazines found in doctor's offices.
I always have a car/truck book to fall back on in circumstances that require waiting.
BTW, I used to keep a sign inside my locker at work that said:
WAITING IS
My fellow employees, who chanced to see it, looked at me as if I were weird.
None of them figured it out.