http://ask.metafilter.com/tags/masspike Questions tagged with 'masspike' at Ask MetaFilter. Sun, 09 Dec 2007 15:43:15 -0800 Sun, 09 Dec 2007 15:43:15 -0800 en-us http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 60 http://ask.metafilter.com/78221/Why%2Ddoes%2Droad%2Dpaving%2Dtake%2Dso%2Dlong%2Din%2DMassachusetts Why does road paving take so long in Massachusetts? Last year, when the Mass Pike was being paved, it was a multi-month project. They would mill the road, leave the milled road as is for several weeks, then pave it. The process of covering the length of the work area took several months. By comparison, when I lived in the DC Metro area, paving happened overnight on Route 66 in Northern Virginia inside the Beltway - seemingly instantaneously. One machine would mill the road, collect the milled asphalt, turn it into new asphalt, lay it, and then it would be paved -- in hours, not weeks or months. They would mill/pave one lane one night, then move to the next lane the next night. As another example of the lengthy paving processes that take place in Massachusetts, there is now a major project underway to pave Route 9. It's so involved that it even has its own website: www.pavert9.com.<br> <br> Regarding the paving on Route 66, I thought of three reasons why it may have been so speedy - and these are far from comprehensive:<br> <br> 1. Capital area security: Milled roads might provide a hazard in the event of a disaster inside DC.<br> <br> 2. Budget and/or availability of machinery: Mass doesn't have access to the fancy machines in the DC area or can't afford them.<br> <br> 3. Weather: It doesn't get nearly as cold in DC, and that may make the milling process easier.<br> <br> Any of these make sense? Anything else? tag:ask.metafilter.com,2007:site.78221 Sun, 09 Dec 2007 15:43:15 -0800 dc highway massachusetts masspike paving virginia washington scottso17