> Cul-de-sacs are designed to minimize all three compared to through roads, and thus should have much higher than average life for the broader class of all road

> Cul-de-sacs are designed to minimize all three compared to through roads, and thus should have much higher than average life for the broader class of all roads. On top of that, you might not even care that the cul-de-sac itself is in poor condition. It's usually short enough to the point where driving a bit on a mediocre/poor surface won't really damage a modern car, especially the ever popular crossover suv types. There are plenty of gravel cul-de-sacs as well which cost peanuts to construct and maintain, compared to traditional high-throughput roads. They also won't damage your car as long as your drive slowly and carefully.