I don’t understand why there are gravel roads, if all people pay taxes to upkeep the roads, why are some gravel?
Who is responsible for road conditions?..state, county, city?
I don’t think it’s right to keep roads gravel, because it causes way too many car and truck problems, nevermind the school busses that have to be other them everyday.
And what did I hear in the news recently about the “state?” will start picking up some of the vehicle insurance cost, etc for poor road conditions?? (I only caught a little of it on the radio, and have no clue what the details were.. do you?
Is there any one out there that works for a car insurance place that could give details about bad roads refunds? I run 2 buses a day, and they have to travel dirt / gravel roads, and it’s tearing them up !
Figures.. I get two respected advisors to answer.. dang it.. I don’t have a clear path to take on deciding between.. and I don’t wanna, so.. a vote it shall be.. both answers are great!!
March 7, 2010 @ 2:57 am
Gonna hazard my best guess –
City roads are generally paved unless on privately owned land and then sometimes, particularly if there’s only one person who lives on it, they’re not going to pay for paving. They consider the gravel put out a luxury.
County roads sound more like the ones you’re dealing with, and a lot of the more remote roads aren’t paved because not enough people have complained about it. I even think some people want their roads unpaved because it adds to the rustic quality of their country home setting.
State roads are the intra-state highways and byways, nearly all of those should be paved and if not chances are that could be covered by some insurance provision.
First I would invest a few dollars in a regional map that has all roads thoroughly outlined, then mark the ones that are an issue for you and follow up with the county board. Atleast you’d have some answers, even if it doesn’t result in paving.
If the roads are privately owned, you could take it up with the owners… or insist that they meet you at the beginning of their road since they’ve made it less than passable.
Last- once you have that information locked down, it’s time to talk to a local representative of your insurance company. They should know the latest coverages offered. (Sorry, didn’t catch the broadcast you mentioned)
Good Luck, hope this has helped – J
March 7, 2010 @ 3:45 am
Like so many things today, I expect the answer to your question is money. If a lightly traveled road is still gravel, it’s probably a county or township road, and the state has little interest in paying for paving it. But maybe that is a good thing, because if someone could persuade a local government to upgrade or pave the road, they could use the reasons you just gave:: the cost to the school district of bus maintenance, the cost to locals of car repairs, etc.
just an aside here, in sparsely populated northern minnesota, many of the township roads are gravel. some of the lake resorts that are miles and miles up these roads have put in their 2 cents to get them paved, even though they are government roads. Sometimes, the squeaky wheel does get the grease. You should ask your county gov’t about a particular road if there’s a problem.