why do the roads go bad so fast

zoomzx11

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Jan 21, 2006
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The Dominican Republic (Costa Rica also) have roads full of holes. I know it rains alot in the DR but can heavy rains be responsible for all the pot holes and how quickly the holes return when they are patched?
I wonder if over weight trucks have anything to do with it. I have never seen over loaded trucks anything like what runs around here. I have seen them with rear axles bent and the tires wobbling from side to side. In the US the police watch the trucks closely and many have commercial truck scales in their trunks. I have seen them weighing trucks on the side of the road for over-weight. I have no knowledge of road paving and was just wondering. The price we pay in car repairs and accidents in the DR is high. Can it be that enforcement of truck weight restrictions would help. I know you have all seen those semi tractor trailers loaded sky high with sacks of I dont know what and a few Haitian laborers riding on top of the load. Always feel sorry for them in the rain.
I know one of you drunners is a road paving expert.
 
Dec 26, 2011
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You're referring to what they call patanas. Mostly for sugarcane transport.

Corners are cut in the road construction. Like corners are cut everywhere. If specs call for a certain depth of gravel and stone for proper bedding of the road surface and the inspectors or the inspectors' bosses can be "persuaded" to look the other way when skimping occurs, the contractor can save big time.
 
May 29, 2006
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Could be a lot worse. When you get out into the non-paved areas, you're going to get "washboard" roads which are brutal on your car(and your back). Roads need proper prep work and drainage to last and it's not cheap to do it right. Many Dominican roads also have water/sewer lines that run along side of them and leaks can cause sinkholes and subsidence along the edges.

All it takes is a blocked culvert in a heavy rain to make a road completely fail. Here's why you should never cross a road that is even a few inches underwater. Everything looks fine at first, just a few inches of water, right?

Exclusive: Extended Video Of Freeport Road Collapse - YouTube

You think the potholes are bad in the DR? Check this out:

guatemala-city-sinkhole_21110_600x450.jpg


60ft across and 300ft deep. 2010 in Guatemala. They say heavy rains caused it along with bad sewer lines.
Guatemala Sinkhole Created by Humans, Not Nature
 
Last edited:
May 12, 2005
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Could be a lot worse. When you get out into the non-paved areas, you're going to get "washboard" roads which are brutal on your car(and your back). Roads need proper prep work and drainage to last and it's not cheap to do it right. Many Dominican roads also have water/sewer lines that run along side of them and leaks can cause sinkholes and subsidence along the edges.

All it takes is a blocked culvert in a heavy rain to make a road completely fail. Here's why you should never cross a road that is even a few inches underwater. Everything looks fine at first, just a few inches of water, right?

Exclusive: Extended Video Of Freeport Road Collapse - YouTube

You think the potholes are bad in the DR? Check this out:

guatemala-city-sinkhole_21110_600x450.jpg


60ft across and 300ft deep. 2010 in Guatemala. They say heavy rains caused it along with bad sewer lines.
Guatemala Sinkhole Created by Humans, Not Nature

I think I can see the Metro in there
 

bob saunders

Platinum
Jan 1, 2002
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TO make a proper road you need to used crushed rock or good gravel and compact it for about three months or longer, then pave it. Quality of the paving is also an issue.
 

Criss Colon

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Jan 2, 2002
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They also use sand and gravel dug from rivers.
That,s why the rivers don't flow much now, the banks are now a kilometer wide.
This mixture is not good for cement mixing.
Beach sand is worse, and they use that as well.
AND, there is more money to be stolen from the re paving every few years.
CC
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
 

Chip

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Jul 25, 2007
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Any road is only as good as it's foundation, regardless of the material. The main issues are:

1. surficial and subterranean water destruction of the pavement subgrade due to inadequate drainage design or infrastructure.
2. inadequate compaction of the subgrade, base and pavement material during construction.
3. improper loading of large vehicles.
 

JMB773

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Nov 4, 2011
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TO make a proper road you need to used crushed rock or good gravel and compact it for about three months or longer, then pave it. Quality of the paving is also an issue.

Correction Mr Bob in order to build proper roads and MAINTAIN them you need " tax dollars" and a government that is willing to allocate the money for streets, roads and sanitation.

I can write Danilo a check for 30 million USD to fix the streets of Santo Domingo Este and out of that 30 million maybe he will patch up a few pot holes and repave a street or two, but majority of the money will go to new homes, cars, vacation, their SPOIL ASS KIDS, etc.

Let me show you example of a 1st class government. If I am driving and I see a pothole no matter the size I call the city of Chicago and give the location and within 5 days they are there repairing the hole. One year I bent a rim on my truck because of a large pothole and the city had to pay for a new rim.

Having roads and streets in good condition 98% of the year falls into luxury that are given to people in 1st world country, yearning for nice roads in Dominican Republic is asking for ALOT!!!

BTW I saw a guy in DR once in Porsche 911 and I thought who drives that type of car on these type of streets.
 

dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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i'll sum it up shortly: bad construction and looooots of theft. there are many areas with underground water, there should be a proper drainage system there, good road supports and maybe even a bridge or some sort of elevado there to pass the worst parts. but it is cheaper to pack some gravel and cover it with asphalt as thinly as butter on the toast. but guess what? it's great news because whatever is saved on building can be stolen and spent elsewhere.
 

LTSteve

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Jul 9, 2010
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In general the roads around the north and northeast coast are so much better than they used to be. The government has put a lot of resources into improving the road conditions. The base on most of these roads is a hard clay and gravel. This makes a hard base but I havn't seen much in the way of a moisture barrier put down. With heavy usage and a lot of rain and moisture in the ground, these roads tend to wear quickly and the moisture creates pot holes. With the cost of labor I think the feeling is that it is cheaper to patch the problem areas. Also many of the new roads are financed and built by companies outside the DR and who knows what corners they are cutting.

LTSteve
 
May 29, 2006
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Any road is only as good as it's foundation, regardless of the material. The main issues are:

1. surficial and subterranean water destruction of the pavement subgrade due to inadequate drainage design or infrastructure.
2. inadequate compaction of the subgrade, base and pavement material during construction.
3. improper loading of large vehicles.

Yep. All of that. When you see them build roads in the US, the subgrade is uniform crushed hard(typically basalt around here) stone. Then they pack it down with a thumper and put down a finer layer of gravel, tamp it again then the cap it with with the asphalt and grade the asphalt at about 5? pitch crown so it drains to both sides or all off on one side where it goes into a drainage system.

I've seen a blocked culvert cause a road to fail with just 2" of rain. Once the culvert was overrun, the water went under the pavement and in a matter of an hour or so there was a good 5 cubic yards of road washed away. The 12" culvert was enough to handle the water in normal situations, but it was so small that a couple sticks and leaves were enough to block it.

Once there is any defect in the road surface, it get stressed far more and the defect gets worse. All too often you see them simply put asphalt in to patch holes, but it quickly packs down and then fails in the same spot. Fixing a pothole correctly is more than a five minute job.
 

zoomzx11

Gold
Jan 21, 2006
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wow, learned a lot more about roads. Its not some simple answer. In response to the poster who saw a 911- there are quite a few exotic cars in the DR and its not about driving , its all about being seen. Thanks everyone.
 

gonzo two

Banned
Jan 13, 2010
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no sides to the roads- I think if there were sides it would last a bit longer but that would require drainage

In areas with drainage and gutters the roads hold up a lot better

A bit on the side saves you from being undermined
 

AlterEgo

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Jan 9, 2009
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no sides to the roads- I think if there were sides it would last a bit longer but that would require drainage

In areas with drainage and gutters the roads hold up a lot better

gonzo, that could also mean that roads constructed with drainage and gutters are simply made better to begin with.....

Our house is on a packed dirt road. Last March they started to pave the road, as promised the year before. They began with gutters and curbs. Then they stopped [big surprise, huh???]. So now we have drainage and gutters, and no road. So typical that no one is surprised.
 

bob saunders

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Jan 1, 2002
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Correction Mr Bob in order to build proper roads and MAINTAIN them you need " tax dollars" and a government that is willing to allocate the money for streets, roads and sanitation.

I can write Danilo a check for 30 million USD to fix the streets of Santo Domingo Este and out of that 30 million maybe he will patch up a few pot holes and repave a street or two, but majority of the money will go to new homes, cars, vacation, their SPOIL ASS KIDS, etc.

Let me show you example of a 1st class government. If I am driving and I see a pothole no matter the size I call the city of Chicago and give the location and within 5 days they are there repairing the hole. One year I bent a rim on my truck because of a large pothole and the city had to pay for a new rim.

Having roads and streets in good condition 98% of the year falls into luxury that are given to people in 1st world country, yearning for nice roads in Dominican Republic is asking for ALOT!!!

BTW I saw a guy in DR once in Porsche 911 and I thought who drives that type of car on these type of streets.

Road from Jarabacoa to Constanza was crushed rock laid down and compacted, then paced. Huge drain ditches on both sides of the roads and massive colverts. Hope it lasts. You haven't seen potholes until you drive in Montreal.
 

JMB773

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Nov 4, 2011
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wow, learned a lot more about roads. Its not some simple answer. In response to the poster who saw a 911- there are quite a few exotic cars in the DR and its not about driving , its all about being seen. Thanks everyone.

The 911, Boxster or Cayman are not classified as "exotic" cars like a Lambo, Ferrari and Maserati. You can use a Porsche as an everyday car and most of their line are use for that very purpose.

A Bently or Rolls are "status symbols" Owning a 911 is all about DRIVING ask anyone that owns one. I know there are people that own Porsche in DR I think they have dealer ship in Santo Domingo.

To me a Porsche is not a Porsche in DR like it is in Europe or the USA it will be very hard to enjoy it in Santo Domingo IMO. The worst thing you can due to a 911 is have it sit and idle in traffic 99% of the time.

The reason why stated about the 911 is the car sits very low to the ground and if you hit a pothole you will do MAJOR damage to that car in Dominican Republic. I the mean an oil change is like 900USD so you can image the cost if you damage any of your suspension.
 

AlterEgo

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Jan 9, 2009
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Road from Jarabacoa to Constanza was crushed rock laid down and compacted, then paced. Huge drain ditches on both sides of the roads and massive colverts. Hope it lasts. You haven't seen potholes until you drive in Montreal.

Yes Bob, but many of the potholes in colder climates is from the salt that's poured on the roads after ice/snowstorms, isn't it?

I would think roads where it never snows or freezes would last a lot longer. Not!
 
May 29, 2006
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no sides to the roads- I think if there were sides it would last a bit longer but that would require drainage

In areas with drainage and gutters the roads hold up a lot better

A bit on the side saves you from being undermined

Not to mention it keeps you from ending up in a crumpled ball of metal when some gua gua comes at you at 100kph trying to pass a sugar cane truck going 99kph.
 

cobraboy

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Jul 24, 2004
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Yes Bob, but many of the potholes in colder climates is from the salt that's poured on the roads after ice/snowstorms, isn't it?

I would think roads where it never snows or freezes would last a lot longer. Not!
No.

They are from water below the surface expanding when it freezes.

Water kills roads. The problems with DR roads are:


  • Drainage & lack thereof
  • Loads exceeding design parameters