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North of the Mason Dixon line roads require resurfacing every ten to twenty years due to winter freeze-thaw cycles which requires vast resources. South of the
by VLM 6y ago
North of the Mason Dixon line roads require resurfacing every ten to twenty years due to winter freeze-thaw cycles which requires vast resources.
South of the Mason Dixon line roads require annual landscaping to prevent overgrowth.
Much like technology is spread very unevenly, post-apocalyptic is spread very unevenly. There is a large subculture of urban explorers on youtube, interesting stuff to watch. Interesting to see them explore sites abandoned around the turn of the century, driveways / roads and such are essentially impassible.
There are exceptions. Youtube abandoned mine explorers visit sites abandoned a century ago out west and other than the occasional landslide desert roads can remain clear for a century or so. Of course without massive fossil fuel burning, Vegas can't exist, so great roads aren't very useful without any population to travel them... Similar problem with the deep south USA, before air conditioning the number of people living down there was low.
- JoeAltmaier 6y agoDefinitely regional. But the average post-apoclyptic movie is set in dry or desert environment, not a jungle! And a bike doesn't need a road 2-rod wide. Just a path as wide as a bike tire. Even a good shoulder. And cement roads can last far longer than asphalt. Definitely situational. Anywhere a car could go, a bike could go further I think.
- est31 6y ago> Of course without massive fossil fuel burning, Vegas can't exist Doesn't it run from energy generated by the Hoover dam?
- privong 6y agoI suspect that transport for getting the necessary food and goods into town is almost all fossil fuel based (semi trucks and trains).
- est31 6y agoGood point. Also I guess the tourists who visit Vegas and bring their money come with fossil fuel based means of transportation as well.
- BurningFrog 6y agoGrowing food also requires tons of fossil fuel etc. Without it, in a fast unplanned event at least, humanity would face a very big population reduction.
- JoeAltmaier 6y agoSo, plenty of bikes available for the survivors!
- BurningFrog 6y agoAs long as the rubber stays soft, yes!
- privong 6y ago> Growing food also requires tons of fossil fuel etc. Yes, but I don't think they're doing much of that in the immediate area around Las Vegas (which is what the parents of my original comment were discussing).
- spullara 6y agoHow long would roads last without cars and especially large trucks driving on them?
- jcranmer 6y agoThis is a picture of the ex-Crater Rim Road in Hawaii: https://goo.gl/maps/dTnxPHvW5ad2PtYh7 https://goo.gl/maps/dTnxPHvW5ad2PtYh7 The road in question was closed as a result of a 1983 earthquake. Part of the road is now used as the Crater Rim Trail, and if you pan around a little bit, you can see just how close the trail is to the current rim of the crater. I don't know how long ago those pictures were taken, but my recollection of the road's condition circa 2005 when I hiked the trail wasn't all that much better. While the parts of the ex-road that are now used as a trail are in decent enough condition, the parts that are not are not in any condition to be used as a path. Admittedly, this is the windward side of Hawaii (and hence very conducive to fast growth), but the usable lifespan of an unused, unmaintained asphalt road should generally be figured in the region of a few decades at most.
- spullara 6y agoThat road has at least another 40-50 years. Probably longer based it being built 50 years+ ago and left to disrepair 38 years ago. Not to mention it being on unstable ground.