Condition of Gate Road by Exodus

[bigbluedoggy]

I've seen it mentioned here and there but figured it deserves its own topic. The condition of Gate Road made it close to impassable by the time the event was over. It became an unbelievable obstacle course of deep craters and ruts and powdery dunes which hid it all from view. No need to worry about anyone speeding as it was difficult to go even 5mph, let alone 10. I watched the suspension on numerous vehicles around me be put to extreme tests as we all bounced and jolted slowly towards the pavement.

I'm curious if there is something in the BLM stipulations that prevents BMORG from using a grader to level out the surface when it gets that bad. I'm sure it would leave a lasting scar but I'm pretty sure the cratered mess that is/was Gate Road is going to be a pretty nasty scar all by itself. Thoughts or further info?

[Traveller in Time]

A grader displaces the dust. A roller would just compact it.

Used after every batch of cars should reduce any ruth before it grows out of control.

[AfricanFire]

I agree the road condition was absolutely terrible. I had serious doubts about whether my car would be able to make it. Given the amount of traffic and the heavy loads on exodus, I'd love to see some kind of contingency plan for this in the future.

[TT120]

The could have easily shifted the road over to one side or the other.

[spacetime]

We knew we wouldn't take the civic out again, but wow the road was bad this year.

[The Rod]

Stop. Dumping. Water. All. Over. The. Fucking. Roads.

[fireheadwhale]

Worst. Road. Ever.

[BBadger]

Maybe they teleported all the shittiness off the main playa to the gate road instead. I was amazed by how every bit of the gate road was so shitty compared to that near-perfect playa.

Then again, that 9:00 side of the city had some foot-deep potholes in some sections. What the hell were you guys doing over there?

[Molotov]

They could have lifted the flag line and let every vehicle shift over 5 lanes onto the unbroken crust-granted, in a while it will be just as fucked up. I think if they used a road grader periodically, you would just eventually end up with a road surface a foot deeper than the playa, which would have to be remediated post event.

I have a bigger problem with the GPE and BLM perimeter patrols stirring up huge dust clouds just on the other side of the flag line that caused people to roll up their windows and start their engines, which sort of negates the whole pulsing-engine off thing.

[maladroit]

This is a do-ocracy, I don't see you out there during the event with a shovel leveling out the road! You think our $80 vehicle pass goes towards improving the road or something? Selfish!

[spacetime]

Maybe they teleported all the shittiness off the main playa to the gate road instead. I was amazed by how every bit of the gate road was so shitty compared to that near-perfect playa.

I would actually happily make this Deal with the dust devil. Playa was the best this year.

[Molotov]

A question: If gate road got so rutted by people driving over 5 mph, how does the Black Rock City Airport runway not get torn up by aircraft with takeoff speeds over 60 MPH? Maybe it's about a lower vehicle count.

Surely, they don't occasionally run a a road grader down the runway?

[Admiral Fukkit]

I'm sure a lot of that is the weight.
A Cessna 172 doesn't even weigh 2000 pounds. A small car loaded down for burning man is twice that, and the bigger RVs and trucks start at about 10,000 and go to around 80,000.
I roll in at 22,000.

[BBadger]

Yup, most road damage is caused by heavier vehicles, not lots of lighter vehicles. It makes me wonder if these BxB mass transit systems, along with the other vehicles needed to transport the shelters and other amenities, are actually more damaging than having many more individuals driving in with their own rentals, etc.

[Jackass]

Yup, most road damage is caused by heavier vehicles, not lots of lighter vehicles. It makes me wonder if these BxB mass transit systems, along with the other vehicles needed to transport the shelters and other amenities, are actually more damaging than having many more individuals driving in with their own rentals, etc.

Yeah, but most of those take the service entrance @ point 1. That's the road I took outbound and it was in very good shape... It just gets a lot less traffic.

[some seeing eye]

The conditions of gate road are entirely due to cars driving >5mph. No amount of spraying can fix it. Heavy trucks don't cause it.

http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/new ... ppled-road

[BBadger]

Interesting stuff! Though weight does have to do with it, in this case it isn't the case. The gate road is posted for 10mph. Perhaps it should be reduced to 5mph.

[maladroit]

It must have been because the surface of the playa was so soft and crunchy on that side of the city. It decomposed into "kitty litter" and dust drifts. Those got moved around and compacted into the washboard surface, caused by most vehicles having roughly the same sized tires and suspension resonance at the same speed. In years where the surface is very hard, you don't see such huge ripples forming.

[The Rod]

I think that spraying the roads with water might exacerbate the problem.

[JohnEBGud]

I think that spraying the roads with water might exacerbate the problem.

I think you're right. The wet playa adheres to tires causing divots where it pulls away from the road. Those depressions now pool water making it more likely they will be wet and repeat the process.

[The Rod]

I live in the country. Lotsa dirt roads and driveways. Winter time is when they get fucked up and the potholes get worse. Standing water on the road surface coupled with traffic fucks up unsealed roads.

And really, trying to mitigate dust at Burning Man?? Its fucking dusty. Get over it.

[Molotov]

Wetting the top of the dust aggravates the problem. If you have ever used a rolling pin on pie or cookie dough and had the dough stick to the roller, you get the idea. The wet surface (dough) laying on top of the dry dust (flour) sticks to tires, only to be thrown off in clods as centrifugal force peels it from the tires. The divots left behind by the adhering clods makes the road rougher, and the thrown off clods get packed down somewhere else, making the road rough there, too.

[spacetime]

I live in the country. Lotsa dirt roads and driveways. Winter time is when they get fucked up and the potholes get worse. Standing water on the road surface coupled with traffic fucks up unsealed roads.

And really, trying to mitigate dust at Burning Man?? Its fucking dusty. Get over it.

I couldn't tell. It seemed like 6 got more and more cement like over the week. I thought it was possibly from the dust mitigation passes and constant drying, but my partner thought it was just getting compressed from traffic.

[The Rod]

Once a divot or pothole forms and subsequently fills with water, every time a tire rolls through it splashes the turbid water out and makes the pothole worse.

Not exactly Science Rockets here folks.

[Admiral Fukkit]

Then some big-ass bone covered bus pounds it even harder and fucks up everything for everybody

[The Rod]

Next year I'm outfitting it with jackhammers and a subsoiler.

Pound harder!

[TORD]

We saw idiots in RVz speeding thru whiteouts and bikes being drug behind trucks after getting bounced off the racks. Could be worse. Could be raining.

[TORD]

[quote="BBadger"]Maybe they teleported all the shittiness off the main playa to the gate road instead. I was amazed by how every bit of the gate road was so shitty compared to that near-perfect playa.

Then again, that 9:00 side of the city had some foot-deep potholes in some sections. What the hell were you guys doing over there?[/quote]

Yah I noticed that and some pretty deep dust too.

[fireheadwhale]

I saw bikes in the road during Exodus. The drivers probably didn't even realize they'd been shaken off. They probably got a ways down the road and realized,"HEY! Our fuckin' bikes are gone!". Like they're really going to go back to look for them. I call that some very forgivable MOOP. I was pulling a 22 year old camping trailer that I bought for the burn. I was very worried about it. I was almost crying. "My fucking trailer is going to be destroyed!". She's a tough old nest, one sweet camper. Made it back to California OK. But all my shit in the cabinets was on the floor.

[dragonpilot]

UPDATE: During the Theme Camp Symposium the lady who is heading up Perimeter/Gate/Exodus attributed the Exodus road condition to the unusually wet winter...created a thicker crust that when pulverized by several thousand vehicles resulted in the bone-crushing ruts.

Just repeating her comment.