How about a section that identifies bad stretches of Interstate? For example, the road condition of I-64 thru East St Louis and St Louis was bad beyond belief. The quarter inch steel support for our propane tank failed, it dropped, and we almost had a catastrophe on our hands. The wheel liner flew off and our blinds fell down. I-29 thru Iowa is little better than a cow path. We now avoid many parts of I-84 (around Boise especially) because the road is so poor (even though it is relatively new). I'm not talking about a mile or two stretch of bad road that is being repaired. I'm just looking for some way that long stretches of poor Interstate can be identified I-10 across West Texas was fine. But I-10 East of Houston into LA was muy malo - very poor! Yes I realized that it is "under construction." But it looks as though it will be under construction for most of the next decade. I-5 in mid and southern CA is another area that has a lot of bad stretches. Some states do incredible jobs at maintaining there interstates, particularly Montana, Oregon and Washington in the West. Other states should be ashamed. It would seem that with as many people travelling these major roads it would be relatively simple to note the bad areas so that people could avoid them. Maybe the section could even list some alternative routes. Is there somewhere on the net where poor roads are listed? I, for one, would rather drive a smooth back road and maybe spend a little extra time than having my rig beaten up and my nerves frazzled on the "great" interstate roads. Really, driving a smooth road is relaxing and enjoyable. Poor roads make me wish I'd stayed at home. We drove on US 191 in Southern Utah. It was marked at 55 mph but I was going 20 and felt that I was going way too fast for the condition of the road. Even just a color coded map of Good, Medium and Poor of the Interstate system would be a huge help in planning a trip. Thanks I have a 99 Dolphin, 34 ft MH
I agree that many sections of our interstates are horrible, especially I-10 through Louisiana. But I wonder if part of the fault doesn't lie with the suspension systems they put on motorhomes. I have been on many interstates where the shaking and bumping would literally rattle your teeth if you were in a motorhome but, when you drove the same sections in a car, they weren't all that bad. Like you, I would rather drive a good backroad and go slower than a bad interstate. I know of no source that rates interstates, but would love to hear of one if anyone else out there does.
meer> Great idea! Webmaster??? Beast> I have yet to find ANY road in Louisiana that isn't a headache for RV owners. I-20 on either side of Jackson, MS is like being on a roller coaster. GA, SC, VA, TN, FL, and my state of TX generally have good interstate and red roads.
I-64 through St. Louis should be avoided at all costs!!!!! There will be major construction of nightmarish proportions for the next few years from the downtown area out to I-270 in the western part of St. Louis County. If you don't need to go into areas served by I-64, alternatives are I-270 to I-70 around to the north or I-270/255 around to the south or I-270 to I-44 through the south central part of the metro area. Even if you take the northern or southern routes, you will still be in the metro area proper and will find all of the services you need. Also, most St. Louisians will refer to I-64 as Hwy 40, this is different than I-44 though the two are virtually parallel. The St. Louis Post Dispatch has a special section on the Hwy 40 construction in their traffic section. The link is in the upper right corner of the home page. www.stltoday.com
I think Pennsylvania wins the award as having the worst Interstates in the country. Interstate 80, 81, 84......they are all awful in PA. I am always so glad to be out of that state primarily because the driving/traffic is so bad!
I agree with MaineDon that PA interstates are bad, but they are really good compared to the roads in my home Province, Quebec. There should be warning signs when you enter the province saying: "Warning! Bad roads for the next 15 000 km"
I think that this would be a great idea. rv.net and irv2.com already have some of this information. This is a major issue for many of use that travel the rv highways.
QUOTE(MaineDon @ Jul 18 2007, 12:48 PM) [snapback]7721[/snapback] I think Pennsylvania wins the award as having the worst Interstates in the country. Interstate 80, 81, 84......they are all awful in PA. I am always so glad to be out of that state primarily because the driving/traffic is so bad! Living in PA, I agree, our interstates and roads in general are worse than I've seen in other states...but what gets me, is they're always working on them, yet they still are in horrible shape...go figure, LOL. And, in the near future I-80 will become a toll road, so you're going to have to pay to use it.
