58th Street rant

Monday was a nice day around West Michigan for February -- no snow, the sun popped out from behind the clouds every now and again and the breeze from the west was stiff but not blustering. So, heading up to my Spanish class in Holland, I thought I'd take 58th Street.

Stoopid (yes, with two "Os").

The road was drifted over (some spots with 4 to 5 inches of snow) and ice covered. I should have known better and taken some alternate routes. And the ride home? Worse in the dark (Yes, I took it home. Stooopid with three "Os" this time) but I wanted to get home fast. The alternate routes add at least 5 miles to my drive.

58th Street is the worst primary road I've ever driven on. You see, it's a major north-south two-lane road in Allegan County so it's always busy. It has one of the few bridges across the Kalamazoo River. On this side of the county, to cross the river, you have to take I-196, Blue Star Highway, 58th Street or M-40.

The problem with 58th Street is that it's surrounded by flat farm land. With no wind blocks, the road is quickly covered with snow that, with the constant pressure from vehicle tires, turns to ice quickly. It also has some nasty hills (the county's steepest incline at Old Allegan Road!) and tricky turns.

I try to avoid it in the winter, taking an alternate way through Saugatuck, across the Blue Star Highway bridge. But sometimes I make bad decisions.

Allegan County is cash-strapped, so I can't expect much for road care in the winter. The county does not have a clear-pavement policy like the state (the roads must be clear of snow), but instead has a passable policy (the roads just have to be considered passable, which means leaving snow and ice if it's not going to block the road).

Consider this selfish because I use the road, but I consider 58th Street one of the county's most important roads. It links southwest Allegan County -- which is growing by leaps and bounds -- to Holland. I think the county ought to take better care of it, maybe plow and salt a little more or add snow fencing or start a tree-planting program to cut down on the drifting. In my world ...

Eventually, if the population and transportation trends continue, this road will have to be widened to four lanes most of the way and straightened and levelled at some key intersections (136th Avenue mainly), but that's decades in the future.

For now, I'll just have to be careful and make more prudent decisions for safety.

Thought: Slip sliding away.