Sunday, June 28, 2009

Stimulus Money Needed

Our local roads need a healthy dose of the Obama stimulus money soon. Some of my favorite roads are in as poor of a condition as is our economy. Friday, I headed north on the Lavaque Road to do the 29 mile loop past Bergan lake, then Pike Lake via the Munger Shaw Road. As soon as you cross the Cloquet River heading west, the pavement turns to crap. Broken up, slow, surface worn, generally garbage all the way to Pike Lake. It feels like you're pedaling in quick sand. Stretches of the Martin Road are nearly as bad, As is the Rice Lake Road heading north from the Martin.

It would be nice if the roads got the treatment the Lavaque got a few years back. A rebuild with wide, smooth shoulders makes it perfect for bike riding. The shoulders on the Rice Lake and Martin roads are getting very rough, and the Munger Shaw's are none existent. This makes for some really nasty riding when the traffic is heavy. But, you have to make due with what you have, so this is where I ride. And people wonder why I ride down in the Moose Lake area. Smooth, low traffic roads, slightly better weather, all a short drive away. I might just relocate......

3 comments:

rlove2bike said...

I am right there with you. A lot of the roads in the area suck. I could carry on for a long time on this.

Boz said...

Part of it is our soil, but more is lack of budget for engineering and maintaining our roads. It's a fact that smooth, well engineered roads are safer and save gas. Not to mention suspension repairs that are very costly.

Tim D said...

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