Texas begins replacing paved roads with gravel

[ClosedCaption]

From the link:

In the final days of the 83rd regular legislative session, lawmakers found $225 million to repair county roads affected by energy development, and the same amount for repairs to state-owned roads. That funding, though, was only a temporary fix. Efforts to increase taxes on the companies that are profiting from the energy boom to cover the road repair costs failed to gain traction. TxDOT said repairing and maintaining the oil field roads into the future will cost about $1 billion a year in additional funding.

 

[Sallow]

God forbid the oil companies should contribute to fixing the roads they ruined. <My comment

Texas begins replacing paved roads with gravel due to lack of funding | The Raw Story

The oil and gas boom in Texas has produced an unintended effect: The state plans to covert some roads to gravel to save money.

The oversized vehicles and overweight loads used by energy companies has had a devastating impact on many roads, but the state has not appropriated enough money to fix them.

The Texas Department of Transportation began converting more than 80 miles of paved roads to gravel on Monday, according to the Texas Tribune. The speed limit on the new gravel roads will be reduced to 30 mph.

Texas lawmakers approved $225 million for the repair of roadways and bridges within the state highway system this year. Texas lawmakers also approved a ballot measure that would provide $1.2 billion a year for state transportation projects. If approved by voters in 2014, the measure would divert money from the state’s rainy day fund to the state highway fund.
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You gotta love it.

This is a prime example of a private enterprise using and destroying public infrastructure while keeping all the profits.

And the public gets to pay.

So you think the area isnt experiencing an economic boom because of all the traffic?
Tax payer pays less for gravel roads and makes more money off the oil industry.
Yeah....I can see where you might think that was a bad thing.

Seriously?



You don't see how replacing pavement with a bunch of rocks will effect economic activity?

 

[Sallow]

I'm old enough to remember when a lot of back roads were gravel...

when the big push to pave all roads began in the 60's, I remember thinkin' that it didn't seem to make sense to pave those lightly-used roads...

makes perfect sense to me to now let some of 'em revert back to gravel...

Yes.."perfect" sense.

The speed limit is being brought down to 30 mph. And Gravel has a tendency to chew up motor vehicles.

As per usual..the greedy fucks in the oil industry are pennywise and pound foolish.

Have you ever actually been to rural areas? News flash: many of those roads are ALREADY gravel!

Which reminds me...I think I need another load of crushed stone for my driveway.

I drove a truck for 11 years.

You know what happens when you have to drive down unpaved roads?

You have to slow down. It also kicks up dirt or rocks, which does bad things to machinery.

Both things have a big impact to your bottom line.

 

[ClosedCaption]

Tell us more about those low low taxes lol

 

[Sallow]

China is building cities that no one is actually living in.

Nuff said...

Which city would that be?

I was in Shanghai a couple years back.

Looked pretty full.

If you had the ability to use Google in the area you have visited, you would have learned about Ordos, Tieling New City, Chenggong, Kangbashi. Need I go on?

Their largest shopping mall has been empty since 2005, LMAO. Infrastructure nutters sure know how to pick em...

So you saw that first hand?

 

[bodecea]

How do the Farmers feel out the FM roads being chewed up?

 

[ClosedCaption]

The Repubs cant defend it so they pretend they wanted Gravel the whole time lol

 

[Quantum Windbag]

God forbid the oil companies should contribute to fixing the roads they ruined. <My comment

Texas begins replacing paved roads with gravel due to lack of funding | The Raw Story

The oil and gas boom in Texas has produced an unintended effect: The state plans to covert some roads to gravel to save money.

The oversized vehicles and overweight loads used by energy companies has had a devastating impact on many roads, but the state has not appropriated enough money to fix them.

The Texas Department of Transportation began converting more than 80 miles of paved roads to gravel on Monday, according to the Texas Tribune. The speed limit on the new gravel roads will be reduced to 30 mph.

Texas lawmakers approved $225 million for the repair of roadways and bridges within the state highway system this year. Texas lawmakers also approved a ballot measure that would provide $1.2 billion a year for state transportation projects. If approved by voters in 2014, the measure would divert money from the state’s rainy day fund to the state highway fund.
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Did you miss the part of your post where they actually need a ballot measure to divert funding? Unlike California, which allows the legislature to take money from schools and use them for whatever they want, Texas has a limited government that cannot spend more than the revenue they have for the year.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

Europe and China have great infrastructure, while the US reverts to gravel roads.

China built an entire city, and no one lives in it. I know that progressives think that makes sense, but in the real world it is going to make things worse.

 

[Lonestar_logic]

You gotta love it.

This is a prime example of a private enterprise using and destroying public infrastructure while keeping all the profits.

And the public gets to pay.

So you think the area isnt experiencing an economic boom because of all the traffic?
Tax payer pays less for gravel roads and makes more money off the oil industry.
Yeah....I can see where you might think that was a bad thing.

Seriously?



You don't see how replacing pavement with a bunch of rocks will effect economic activity?

Hey dumbass, these aren't major roads they're graveling. They're county roads out in the country.

 

[Vox]

Which city would that be?

I was in Shanghai a couple years back.

Looked pretty full.

If you had the ability to use Google in the area you have visited, you would have learned about Ordos, Tieling New City, Chenggong, Kangbashi. Need I go on?

Their largest shopping mall has been empty since 2005, LMAO. Infrastructure nutters sure know how to pick em...

So you saw that first hand?

did you see the Texas gravel roads firsthand too?

 

[Lonestar_logic]

How do the Farmers feel out the FM roads being chewed up?

Most of them don't mind. They can still drive their tractors and combines on them.

 

[rdean]

You gotta love it.

This is a prime example of a private enterprise using and destroying public infrastructure while keeping all the profits.

And the public gets to pay.

So you think the area isnt experiencing an economic boom because of all the traffic?
Tax payer pays less for gravel roads and makes more money off the oil industry.
Yeah....I can see where you might think that was a bad thing.

Seriously?



You don't see how replacing pavement with a bunch of rocks will effect economic activity?

I was going to say the same thing. But remember, these are the same people who say "supply and demand" is unrelated to creating jobs.

 

[Stephanie]

libs are so caring, now they are fretting over other people roads..

so touching and none of their business...but it's just what they have do for a life

 

[Vandalshandle]

Based on the reverse evolution that is going on in Texas, I suspect that it will only be a matter of time before they replace gravel roads with dirt.

 

[Vox]

libs are so caring, now they are fretting over other people roads..

so touching and none of their business...but it's just what they have do for a life

they are simply stooooopid.

there is nothing wrong with gravel roads upon certain conditions.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

So you think the area isnt experiencing an economic boom because of all the traffic?
Tax payer pays less for gravel roads and makes more money off the oil industry.
Yeah....I can see where you might think that was a bad thing.

Seriously?



You don't see how replacing pavement with a bunch of rocks will effect economic activity?

I was going to say the same thing. But remember, these are the same people who say "supply and demand" is unrelated to creating jobs.

Nope. These towns are usually in the middle of nowhere. So the increase in business way offsets any revenue lost to tourism that never existed in the first place.
And people drive trucks in small farming communities so it's not a big deal.
Have you ever left the city?

 

[GHook93]

I think this is a bad move by Texas. Gravel is not the solution. However, every State makes bad decision and good somes. Some more bad then good (IL, NY & CA) and some make more good then bad. Texas is one state that makes more good decisions then bad ones!

If you expect them to be perfect then your a fool!

 

[ClosedCaption]

Seriously?



You don't see how replacing pavement with a bunch of rocks will effect economic activity?

I was going to say the same thing. But remember, these are the same people who say "supply and demand" is unrelated to creating jobs.

Nope. These towns are usually in the middle of nowhere. So the increase in business way offsets any revenue lost to tourism that never existed in the first place.
And people drive trucks in small farming communities so it's not a big deal.
Have you ever left the city?

Boy you seem to tell an entirely different story than the people actually there

Darlene Meyer is a 77-year-old rancher whose property sits along a portion of FM 469 in LaSalle County that is marked for conversion to gravel. She has lived in the county since 1960 and said the current road conditions are the worst she has seen.

“Texas used to have the best roads,” she said.

Meyer said she worries about breaking an axle or popping a tire on the dilapidated paved roads. When they are converted to gravel, she said, she is concerned about the impact of the lower speed limit and about rocks that might crack windows, about potential increases in insurance rates and heavy rains that could flush out the gravel and make the roads impassable. She said she is also worried that living near a new gravel road will reduce her property value.

Dimmit and Zavala county appraisal district officials said they do not expect that the road conversion will prompt immediate changes in area property values, but it is unclear how the changes will affect property values in the future.

With the current oil boom and politicians touting Texas as a thriving, economically sound state, Meyer said she doesn’t understand why TxDOT is converting paved roads to gravel.

“I just can’t believe the Department of Transportation is going back to the dark ages,” she said.

Plan to Convert Roads to Gravel Begins Despite Pushback | The Texas Tribune

 

[Lonestar_logic]

I was going to say the same thing. But remember, these are the same people who say "supply and demand" is unrelated to creating jobs.

Nope. These towns are usually in the middle of nowhere. So the increase in business way offsets any revenue lost to tourism that never existed in the first place.
And people drive trucks in small farming communities so it's not a big deal.
Have you ever left the city?

Boy you seem to tell an entirely different story than the people actually there

Darlene Meyer is a 77-year-old rancher whose property sits along a portion of FM 469 in LaSalle County that is marked for conversion to gravel. She has lived in the county since 1960 and said the current road conditions are the worst she has seen.

“Texas used to have the best roads,” she said.

Meyer said she worries about breaking an axle or popping a tire on the dilapidated paved roads. When they are converted to gravel, she said, she is concerned about the impact of the lower speed limit and about rocks that might crack windows, about potential increases in insurance rates and heavy rains that could flush out the gravel and make the roads impassable. She said she is also worried that living near a new gravel road will reduce her property value.

Dimmit and Zavala county appraisal district officials said they do not expect that the road conversion will prompt immediate changes in area property values, but it is unclear how the changes will affect property values in the future.

With the current oil boom and politicians touting Texas as a thriving, economically sound state, Meyer said she doesn’t understand why TxDOT is converting paved roads to gravel.

“I just can’t believe the Department of Transportation is going back to the dark ages,” she said.

Plan to Convert Roads to Gravel Begins Despite Pushback | The Texas Tribune

One old lady doesn't make a consensus.