Not containers, but here are some of the everyday trucks you see in Michigan.
Michigan Truck Road Trains (Quikrete, Praxair, Flying J) - YouTube
What is the purpose of the 7 axles on a ‘regular’ trailer - raise the load limit to 150K pounds or similar?
Eight axle trailers (11 total) are allowed 164,000#. There are more than 3200 trucks in Michigan baseplated for at least 130,000# GVW.
No wonder Michigan roads look like the quarry Fred Flintstone works in.
Yeah, but did you read the preface on the report. It claims that they damage the roads less than two standard trucks, which is BS. The MTA (MI Trucking Assn) is one of the strongest lobbying groups in the state. They know which palms to grease. Their claim used to be that MI needed the heavier trucks because of all the heavy industry we have. Those days are long gone, so they started a new tack. Also, that it’s better because of the driver shortage.
Is Michigan building the roads to a higher standard to support the additional weights than the rest of the states are?
It doesn’t seem like it.
Michigan roads used to be the best, it being the auto industry state. Now they are the worst; even worse than all-but-bankrupt Illinois!
- Ed Kyle
You must be a lot older than me if you think Michigan’s roads were ever the best, and I’m 62. I remember the experimental, no expansion joint paving that they used on I-275, in the late 70s, early 80s. It didn’t last long. Who can forget the “innovative” tensioned interior cables of the infamous Zilwaukee Bridge? The list goes on and on…
In 1962, on a car trip, I asked my Dad how come the road suddenly became so bumpy and nasty. He said “We’re in Michigan now.”
He also explained why some people in Michigan were living in basements without a hint of a house on top.
An informative trip–See America First!
Ed
The main problem here is civil engineers don’t account for the high water table we have… The mix of sandy and clay soil is not satisfactory. Clay has very little to no percolation. Poor drainage destroys the sub grade of the road. The weight just makes it worse. The thaw freeze cycles don’t help either. Southwestern Ontario has just as high axle loads on their trucks yet their roads are much better and they have very similar soil conditions…
Are the civil engineers in Michigan stikingly stupid? If so, I hope they don’t migrate elsewhere.
Ed
No contractor has ever found a corner he couldn’t cut to increase his profit.
True. I find them all the time. I just don’t choose to take them.
Ed
Michigan trucks have to have a lot more axels so the per axel loan is the same. Some of the trucks have retractable axels for seasonal “frost law” load limits.
You can blame poorly built roads on how the USA contracts road construction out. Instead of requirements of lasting so many years between being replaced and so for with warranty requirements in the contracts. Nope it’s a generic set of requirements for each state with a baseline requirement and the cheapest contract wins regardless of if the project fails 6 months later. All of this mandated by the Federal government.
Truly amazing how the federal government causes historically crappy roads in Michigan.
One can only wonder how Michigan became the target of federal ire, as opposed to Nevada. Or Nebraska.
Ed
I’ve never seen that.
Used to be some of those in northern, NY, too…
Part of the reason for the Eisenhower Interstate System was also as a Defense Mobility function. Have the spec for the roadway been designed to support moving Abrams M1A1 Main Battle tanks on the roadways without significant damage?
I am led to understand that the German Autobahns were constructed with a 20 inch thick road surface. I believe the US standard is 6 inches. I am willing to be corrected.