There are towns that have given up maintaining parts of their road networks and are intentionally turning some hard-to-maintain paved roads into gravel roads -

There are towns that have given up maintaining parts of their road networks and are intentionally turning some hard-to-maintain paved roads into gravel roads - "depaving". https://www.wired.com/2016/07/cash-strapped-towns-un-paving-roads-cant-afford-fix/ https://www.wired.com/2016/07/cash-strapped-towns-un-paving-... Even my home state (Texas), which isn't in an obvious economic crisis (though its budget situation is arguably a self-made crisis by our crazy legislature), has been doing it for a few years now: https://www.texastribune.org/2013/08/19/conversion-of-roads-to-gravel-met-with-concern/ https://www.texastribune.org/2013/08/19/conversion-of-roads-... But Michigan is the example I remember hearing about the most: http://www.ttnews.com/articles/lacking-proper-funding-maintenance-states-turn-some-paved-roads-gravel http://www.ttnews.com/articles/lacking-proper-funding-mainte...