UP / Thumb of Michigan | John e.c.MI - 5/24/2025 14:17
Lots of 8 axle dumps in my neighborhood. The argument is that it’s the same axle weight whether you’re 80k or 164k.
We have the worst roads of any state that I have traveled in so take that for what it’s worth.
Not sure about the quality of roads being the worst in Michigan compared to other places, John.
Years ago, my Dad and I were travelling down through the Keys on the Overseas Highway. Ran into about 10 miles that was pretty rough. 2 or 3 miles either side of that bad stretch weren't perfect, either. I mentioned that I thought it odd that the road was that rough. "Yeah, its those damn beet trucks" was his response. I got a kick out of that- how many times have you heard that when traveling in the Thumb? Obviously, the Keys have almost nothing in common with roads in the Thumb for example. No freeze/thaw cycle, no 11 axle trucks loaded to 164+. But they still get tore up.
My wife and I are currently in Utah, been on the road since April 28. We travelled Route 66 in its entirety (almost anyway) and are now meandering back North and East towards Michigan. This is going to be hard to believe- but we're hit some roads that are worse than SE Michigans roads are. Believe it or not, some even as bad as Saginaw Counties roads. Bad roads are universal everywhere, as are good ones.
Huron County, Michigan gets high marks for their roads, when compared to Tuscola and Sanilac Counties. And they do have good roads, and they have a good road commission and employees. I know many of them. Their taxpayers support good roads, they have successful millage requests that get supported. As does Tuscola and Sanilac. Huron County Road Commision is a little different than other counties in that the Road Commision also is in charge of the drains and the parks. Not saying thats better or worse, its different.
BUT- and this doesn't get mentioned often- EVERYTHING that comes into Huron County, comes in through either Tuscola or Sanilac County. The exact same thing is true for EVERYTHING that leaves Huron County. Its only got one way to go. Tuscola or Sanilac County. All I'm saying is that sometimes, there are good reasons why theres a difference in road conditions. Its not the entire picture, but its a big part of it, especially with truck traffic.
That shouldn't be controversial at all to anyone in Hurn County, right? ;)
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Interesting discussion on truck size/weight
