YHK - yet another hacker news clone

Why Doesn't Anyone Want to Fix One of America's Scariest Roads?

16 points adrianhon 1 hour ago 17 comments

dtagames 1 hour ago | parent

There's a lot of dangerous infrastructure in America. This is far from the only road that causes accidents and deaths on the regular because it is in inherently unsafe or was designed for different kinds of traffic than it has now.

The fact that this road was built in the previous century makes it part of that second category.

In general, we seem unwilling to invest in American road infrastructure. I'd be willing to bet that potholes, the unexciting normal kind you don't even notice in a car, cause more loss of life and loss of money than any particular dramatic road.

dylan604 46 minutes ago | parent

If they fix the potholes, imagine the damage to the mechanic economy for no longer needing to replace tires/wheels, fix suspensions, etc. The mechanic lobby is never going to let this happen!!

bluGill 34 minutes ago | parent

They do fix potholes. However new ones happen all the time so there are always plenty to find with a little working.

At least where I live potholes are the natural result of freeze-thaws cycles.

altruios 4 minutes ago | parent

not all infrastructure should be maintained. I'd personally prefer rail infrastructure prioritized over car roads.

But maintaining current infrastructure in the meantime while we build better things is good too. Let's just not lose the plot on what needs to happen next.

empath75 49 minutes ago | parent

Driving through the rockies is _terrifying_. It's not just this one road.

EPWN3D 12 minutes ago | parent

It's also a bit dizzying. Really easy to just get lost in the spectacle of the mountains.

bryanlarsen 4 minutes ago | parent

Driving the Trans-Canada through BC was absolutely terrifying in the 80's; today it's a completely different experience. Twinning it took 25 years (1979 to 2014).

jgalt212 47 minutes ago | parent

Before clicking, I thought this would be about the Cross Bronx Expressway.

intrasight 4 minutes ago | parent

Did that every year visiting family all through the 70s and early 80s from age 5 through 15. Left an indelible mark.

imaginer8 39 minutes ago | parent

Leave colorado alone

98codes 9 minutes ago | parent

Don't worry, nobody but Colorado is ever going to try to, or even think to, fix this one.

jmclnx 34 minutes ago | parent

>and his wife refused to travel on it

Smart person, I would never travel on that road even if the long way is 8 hours longer. And driving in winter ? You have to be crazy.

1970-01-01 24 minutes ago | parent

Do this one weird trick to summarize the entire article. Trim the headline:

"Fix One of America's Scariest Roads?"

devy 16 minutes ago | parent

Not as scary as this: https://dot.alaska.gov/highways/dalton/

wilburx3 5 minutes ago | parent

This is a semi-local road to me, what is amazing in the article is the difference between Switzerland and the US in how they actually care about their citizens.

America is great and fun but also brutal in how the government will actively go out of its way to deny basic living standards. From healthcare to minimum wage, they want you to die just before you reach social security age.