Death of dirt roads? And what does that mean for dirt road riding?

[robin3mj]

Originally Posted by Ken Robb

Anyone who had to drive on a gravel road every day would welcome paving, in my opinion. The dust or mud and gravel hitting your car ages it prematurely and the reduced traction greatly reduces safe speeds.

All gravel roads I have known required grading at least once a year or they developed severe cases of washboard surface. People who live near an unpaved road also get plenty of wind-blown dust on and in their homes too. I think the politicians in power will have a surge of voter support if they can claim credit for paving the roads in the district.

I like riding gravel roads but I think it's due more to the light traffic on them than the fun of a sketchy surface. After a dirt road is paved it's logical that traffic on it will increase but that is somewhat offset by reduced traffic on the other paved roads drivers used to avoid the gravel.

I worked for public works while in school and there is not much that is less fun than fine tuning a gravel road after the rocks have been dumped on it and the grader has gone through.