Is Pure Potholes dead?

[Max Rockatansky]

As some on the forum are aware, I'm originally from Michigan. I left the state in 2001 when road infrastructure wasn't exactly doing great and was around the emergence of the early "Pure Potholes" memes. 

I regularly visit family who still reside in Michigan.  Over the last two decades I've noticed the following:

1. The conditions of roads in Michigan (especially MDOT stock) has improved drastically.
2. I'm finding way worse places than 1990s Michigan ever was for bad road conditions.  In particular rural San Benito County and Mariposa County come to mind for horrifically maintained asphalt in my immediate area.  New Mexico on the whole probably has the worst state maintenance I've encountered in my travels. 

Whenever I post something about Michigan on Gribblenation I'm met with locals who seem to insist the roads are still the worst out there.  While I wouldn't call Michigan perfect, it is a far cry from how bad I remember things.  So the question that came to my mind is if Pure Potholes dead?  The on the ground reality to me seems to suggest it is. 

[tigerwings]

I left MI in 2006.

I still go into MI on occasion, better than years ago, but still behind OH roads (except Toledo).

[JREwing78]

No, it's not. Michigan bonded a ton of money to play catch-up, and it's been pretty successful in making it work. But Michigan currently has no solution for the chronic underfunding of its highways. If it can't convince residents to pay up for better roads, or figure out a solution that directs more funding to roads, it's going right back to where it was in about a decade.

[Terry Shea]

As some on the forum are aware, I'm originally from Michigan. I left the state in 2001 when road infrastructure wasn't exactly doing great and was around the emergence of the early "Pure Potholes" memes. 

I regularly visit family who still reside in Michigan.  Over the last two decades I've noticed the following:

1. The conditions of roads in Michigan (especially MDOT stock) has improved drastically.
2. I'm finding way worse places than 1990s Michigan ever was for bad road conditions.  In particular rural San Benito County and Mariposa County come to mind for horrifically maintained asphalt in my immediate area.  New Mexico on the whole probably has the worst state maintenance I've encountered in my travels. 

Whenever I post something about Michigan on Gribblenation I'm met with locals who seem to insist the roads are still the worst out there.  While I wouldn't call Michigan perfect, it is a far cry from how bad I remember things.  So the question that came to my mind is if Pure Potholes dead?  The on the ground reality to me seems to suggest it is. 

I don't know what area(s) of Michigan you've visited, but while some areas may have gotten residually better, many areas are still terrible and only seem to get worse.

[Max Rockatansky]

As some on the forum are aware, I'm originally from Michigan. I left the state in 2001 when road infrastructure wasn't exactly doing great and was around the emergence of the early "Pure Potholes" memes. 

I regularly visit family who still reside in Michigan.  Over the last two decades I've noticed the following:

1. The conditions of roads in Michigan (especially MDOT stock) has improved drastically.
2. I'm finding way worse places than 1990s Michigan ever was for bad road conditions.  In particular rural San Benito County and Mariposa County come to mind for horrifically maintained asphalt in my immediate area.  New Mexico on the whole probably has the worst state maintenance I've encountered in my travels. 

Whenever I post something about Michigan on Gribblenation I'm met with locals who seem to insist the roads are still the worst out there.  While I wouldn't call Michigan perfect, it is a far cry from how bad I remember things.  So the question that came to my mind is if Pure Potholes dead?  The on the ground reality to me seems to suggest it is. 

I don't know what area(s) of Michigan you've visited, but while some areas may have gotten residually better, many areas are still terrible and only seem to get worse.

It has been pretty much the entire state since 2017.

[thspfc]

If you're weirdly nostalgic for the times of horrid potholes everywhere, go ride a bike around St. Paul and you will quickly shake that feeling.

[Max Rockatansky]

If you're weirdly nostalgic for the times of horrid potholes everywhere, go ride a bike around St. Paul and you will quickly shake that feeling.

My analog for this on the recent trip was Jefferson Avenue in Delray.  Rademacher Street approaching the Gordie Howe Bridge site near Delray Park was the only thing giving me that "old Detroit/old Michigan" feel.