Orange Barrel Blues

[jgavrile]

The roads can be paved correctly if they wanted. The contractors use crappy material so that they can come back in a few years re-bid the job and get it again.
A fact! The original Davison freeway was never repaved from 1942. The only reason they re-did it 10 years ago, is because they made it wider. They used some type of flooding of the concrete to cure it. Man it sure lasted.

[carterjan48]

Oh come on now. If the roads were constructed in the right way how would John Carlos be able to live the life of luxury?

[thomprod]

Cost-cutting pressures due to lower maintenance budgets have lead MDOT to issue construction, repair and repaving contracts to the lowest bidders. The lowest bidder usually skimps on materials in order to maximize profit. Many contracts include a bonus for the contractor if they complete a project ahead of schedule, which is another incentive to cut corners.

I agree with MizMotown and Fury13. The answer is to do it right the first time. But for repairs and repaving, we should bite the bullet and spend the bucks to repair it with the technique and materials that will last the longest, rather than go for a quick fix that is short-sighted.

[DetroitPlanner]

Cost-cutting pressures due to lower maintenance budgets have lead MDOT to issue construction, repair and repaving contracts to the lowest bidders. The lowest bidder usually skimps on materials in order to maximize profit. Many contracts include a bonus for the contractor if they complete a project ahead of schedule, which is another incentive to cut corners.

MDOT designs the project in nearly all cases. In the case of a design build contract they require a much longer [[20-30 year) lifespan to which the contractor is held accountable and must buy insurance to ensure that the fixes if needed are made.