The behemoth vehicle pictured above and new 25-cubic yard trucks make a mighty rumble in the driveway. We also wonder whether their weight is helping to crumble our driveway, which predates them by about 70 years.
The maximum allowable weight of a loaded 25-cubic yard garbage truck is 60,000 pounds. Looking up what that would be in tons, I came across the interesting tidbit that 60,000 pounds equals the amount of copper in the Statue of Liberty, which is 31 tons. (Don't tell the copper thieves.)
The 30-cubic yard truck's maximum weight is 66,000 pounds. By contrast, the Dumpster alongside the building is one cubic yard.
Early on, these trucks mashed down one side of the driveway and careless drivers dislodged the Belgian blocks by running over them. Now the drainage grates are sinking down and my neighbor suspects the weight of these trucks is a factor.
Idle minds being the devil's workshop, I began wondering whether these heavy vehicles plying our side streets is also a factor in road deterioration. Any engineers out there who can explain?
--Bernice
The PMUA always thinks bigger is better, such as their salaries. Plainfield has weight limits on many of its streets and I'm sure the PMUA doesn't care about that when using an oversized truck like this. They probably didn't need it, but wanted to waste rate-payers money. What else is new.
ReplyDeleteThe public works purchased several paving machines, crack sealers and stuff for normal repairs. Have they been done? Ask for a map showing where it happened to post.
ReplyDeleteMuch of the longitudinal joints also known as seams are do to poor workmanship on the day the paving was done. It all looks so nice and pretty the first weeks, no body notices what a bad job is done sometimes. The big flailed pockets can sometimes be to bad asphalt mix if not bought locally.