Can we add the condition of the roads from the south and north end bridges heading into West Springfield and Agawam? I swear it feels like I lose a tire each time.

Also fuck Richie Neal.

If they are cheaper to build than maintain why not just build a new one over the old one?

I'm just kidding.

Search here using "route 5" as key

https://hwy.massdot.state.ma.us/projectinfo/projectinfo.asp?num=608881

Potholes are created by the weather, snow heaves, contraction and expansion. Usually plows create potholes yearly.

It’s uncontrollable.

Pucci’s in West Boylston.

U.S Numbered Routes, sometimes called federal highways, are not maintained with federal funds. The federal government is very much not involved, other than the Department of Transportation providing a consistent numbering system.

This is the answer. And also why we need to fund more public transit

Actually Riverdale Street

Full disclosure, I do have a car that I share with a friend of mine in the area. I start the engine every two weeks to make sure the battery doesn't die and actually use the car myself maybe once a month. Not a wise financial decision on my part, I know. I do like getting out of the city to the mountains to hike in the warmer months.

If you check my post/comment history, you'll see I'm active in a lot of transit- and city-related subs. I'm a big transit advocate and use the T almost daily is some form or another (bus, tram, subway) and also use the T commuter rail and Amtrak for weekend getaways or vacations. I try my best to support the T by actually riding it and to defend it on the internet based on my own experiences with other cities' transit systems (it's not easy being a keyboard warrior lol), but they're making it really difficult these days.

For example, my parents came to visit this weekend. Last night, we got tickets for a concert at the House of Blues over in Fenway. It took us nearly two hours to get from my apartment to the venue using the Green Line because of the closure between North Station and Government Center, where the T offered a shuttle bus between these stations instead. The bus took almost 25 minutes to go from North Station to Gov Center with traffic; walking between these two stations would have taken 15 minutes. Everyone on the bus was livid. We got to Government Center and packed like sardines into the tram and finally got to the Kenmore stop, having missed our dinner reservations. I was embarrassed that my parents had to put up with this experience. This felt like something out of 1930s Belarus or something. You bet your behind we took Uber back to my apartment after the show (a 16-min car ride).

Sorry for the long-winded answer. Maybe I am a hypocrite for having a car here, but my apartment had off-street parking included in the rent, so I said what the hell and brought my car with me. But honestly, I don't think it'll be a concern for me too much longer as I'm looking for jobs back in NJ now.

Edit: Forgot to add-- I noticed the shitty road conditions here on my bike moreso than in my car.

Help me understand as you seem to have a much better understanding of this subject but does Mass DOT receive Chapter 90 funds for infrastructure improvements? And does the Fed approve the requests for funding these projects? Because it's call US Route #5 I thought that this designation indicate it is a US highway? After all this road is interstate and therefore part of interstate commerce?

Doing construction on Riverdale just exacerbates everything; def cant do it in the late summer or fall. It was simultaneously always under construction and never seemed to be improving for the 6 years I worked at T&V.

I drive Riverdale road from time to time. It is in rough condition. Wouldn’t be surprised if they let it get bad just to keep the speeds down.

Superbowl sunday. They are looking for the drunks

Should have left your car in NJ.

Drivers create potholes and refuse to pay more than a few pennies for gas tax yet still complain. Massachusetts drivers get hundreds of millions in hand outs and think they are somehow the ones getting screwed.

It’s because roads are a trap since their cheap to build but expensive to maintain, and they all tend to need maintenance around the same time when you build a bunch at once. When that time comes around, you’ve got a gigantic cost to pay for resurfacing and Pothole fixing and the like, and the budget isn’t enough to pay for it. So some get fixed and the rest get kicked down the line. But the thing is, then other roads need the same thing and the same problem arises, and there’s never enough in the budget to pay for it all. And since roads and streets don’t even make close to enough money to pay for their own maintenance, you need to rely on government funding. But here’s the fun thing, in order to make enough money for those maintenance bills, taxes would have to be raised so high that people would be paying more than their entire yearly income on taxes alone, which obviously you can’t do. So the money never comes, and the roads stay broken. But since we’re all so far deep down the car dependency pit and the initial construction cost is the only number anybody looks at, we keep building roads that we can’t afford since it’s the only transportation option that anybody thinks we can build. And so the cycle continues.

There’s a great series on YouTube that goes into more depth on this, it’s by the creator NotJustBikes and it’s his StrongTowns series. Looks into how car dependant places are being subsidized by walkable/public transit focussed places. Highly recommend watching it

The city of Fitchburg is floating the idea of a $200 per vehicle fee; in addition to excise taxes and property taxes, for road repair in the city.

91 was originally supposed to go where rt 5 is, but it was lobbied to go thru springfield instead. thats why it crosses the river in chicopee and then crosses back again in windsor locks.

Ummmm, Big Dig might like a word.

If anything the Big Dig used a huge share of federal money in Massachusetts, and we’re probably at the bottom of the list for the next decade or so.

United States Numbered Highway System

>The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these highways were coordinated among the states, they are sometimes called Federal Highways, but the roadways were built and have always been maintained by state or local governments since their initial designation in 1926. The route numbers and locations are coordinated by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO).

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>After all it is a federal highway.

Incorrect. U.S. Highways are maintained by local or state governments. The only thing "Federal" about them is that their names are coordinated among/between states.

We have some of the most republican democrats in the country.

RT 5 through West Springfield recently has been making me think about the highway infrastructure in the area. It could be argued that either RT 5 or 91 doesn’t have to exist as separate roads on separate sides of the river. From the Memorial bridge to the Riverdale shops you could just get rid of Rt 5. I know it’s a hot take but neither Springfield or West Springfield have a real waterfront district and that section already has a stretch of residential and the rest is useless car dealerships. There were apparently plans to bury 91 many moons ago but that seems more costly. That section of RT 5 is convenient but I wouldn’t be mad if it was gone.

Even in Boston/Cambridge/Somerville, I am astounded at the poor conditions of some of the roads around here. As a transplant to Mass., I ask, what is up with the poor infrastructure here? I lived in NJ all my life before here and accidentally downgraded. Now that's saying something lol.

Got a private lane for my scooter now!