Welcome To Rally New Hampshire
Well, that's what the signs at the border should say. That may not be entirely fair though; rally courses tend to be a tad smoother, actually.
What is it with this state and a complete lack of roadbeds under the pavement? It will never cease to amaze me how little substance there is under the macadam surface; tar on dirt, as far as I can tell. I know it's a cost thing, but I can't help wondering if, given the cost of doing repairs every spring, it might not have been better to spend the money up front to put in good, deep road beds. It costs more up front, but just the savings in bent rims would be worth it.
With some of the frost heaves in my area creating a delta in the road surface of over six inches, the time has definitely come to park the car for the rest of the winter and just use the Jeep. It's a tough decision, since the car gets around 50% better fuel economy, and with a commute just over 54 miles each way, that makes a noticable difference in my weekly fuel budget; I have this particular car for exactly this reason, commuting; it's economical, reasonably (read as; low) powered and intended to get me safely to and from work every day. The Jeep? Not so much. Really it's a toy, but with sidewalls roughly three times taller, it's far better suited to the rally course I drive to work. My comments earlier about building myself a rally car for winter driving were simply fun, but maybe I should think seriously about it. Taller sidewalls with a tougher suspension would be entirely appropriate. Besides, it would give me an excuse to get/build another car; I like that idea. I suspect my wife might not share my enthusiasm though.
So, what are your experiences with the roads here in New Hampshire during frost heave season?
During my time as a reporter in New Hampshire, I was privy to a number of Planning Board meetings. In more than one the topic of roads came up. It is fairly remarkable the amount that goes under roadways to try to keep them in shape.
I think the issue comes more from the maintenance than the basic structure. We expect the roads to run for years with no major overhaul. In our area that just isn't a possibility.
On roads like the Autobahn in Germany they put a huge amount of effort into stripping down the roads and resurfacing them. It is a huge ordeal but necessary to ensure safety at high speeds.
Being the tight wad New Englanders we are we put off the maintenance and especially the wholesale overhaul of the roads. As the previous commenter pointed out, the frost heaves are often seen as natures way to tell everyone to slow down. I don't happen to agree with that but I also don't agree with more taxes to get rid of them.
So for now I will just do my best to avoid the worst of it and look like a drunk driver while doing so. If you don't like it, fix the roads.