BajaNomad

Potholes!

Mori - 2-5-2024 at 10:17 PM

Drove down from Calexico East to San Felipe then highway5 to join highway1 and on down to La Paz. A great drive with good roads and mostly sensible drivers but the pothole situation between Chapala and Villa Jesus Maria is terrible! Some of them so deep that they could rip the wheels right off your car! They're doing some good highway work south of Guerrero Negro in BCS but I hope that puts some pressure on BCN to catch up and fix the potholes or better yet just resurface the whole highway.

larryC - 2-6-2024 at 08:49 AM

There is an old saying and it goes something like "poop in one hand and hope in the other and see which one fills up first" that's my guesstimate for how much pressure BCN will to fix the pot holes. But rest assured they will get fixed and then new ones will magically appear. I guess I'm a synic.

watizname - 2-7-2024 at 07:25 AM

Mori--at any given time there will be at least one section of the highway, north or south, with a bad pothole situation. It has been that way forever, and will probably be that way forever more. You can never drop your guard on the roads of Baja. It's just part of the adventure. :)

AKgringo - 2-7-2024 at 10:29 AM

The asphalt they use is not the problem. It is the crappy fill material that they build the road base with.

The other problem is that since they are building roads in a desert, they don't give a lot of thought to drainage. With the type of storms we are seeing right now, it is not just run-off, but ground water coming up through the base material where it is close to bedrock.

An eighteen-wheeler passing over a wet spot will jiggle that miserable base material like it was cornstarch in a bowl!

RFClark - 2-7-2024 at 11:37 AM

AK,

That part of the road has always been a problem. Thanks for the warning. It wasn’t that bad a few months ago.

Could not have said it better!!

thebajarunner - 2-7-2024 at 04:56 PM

Quote: Originally posted by AKgringo  
The asphalt they use is not the problem. It is the crappy fill material that they build the road base with.

The other problem is that since they are building roads in a desert, they don't give a lot of thought to drainage. With the type of storms we are seeing right now, it is not just run-off, but ground water coming up through the base material where it is close to bedrock.

An eighteen-wheeler passing over a wet spot will jiggle that miserable base material like it was cornstarch in a bowl!


I have commented numerous times on this very topic, totally in sync with your comments.
Not only is the quality of the base totally suspect, but the specs on the base and a/c on top are far short of standards
My 40 years of developing subdivision lots gave me a close up view of the necessary specs.
Even in a subdivision with minimal heavy traffic we would probably double what they spec out for Mex 1 and 5.
Couple that with some rain and indeed it is just a jiggling jelly bowl under that very thin layer of a/c. (That stands for asphaltic concrete, not air conditioning)

And clearly, a "re-pave" is just a nice bandaid on a serious wound.

RFClark - 2-7-2024 at 09:37 PM

2” of cold mixed oil and gravel on top of compacted dirt if you’re lucky. That section has been “repaved” several times in the last 8 or so years. The batch plant is still East of the 1/5 junction so perhaps they are planning to repave it again,

Mori - 2-8-2024 at 06:25 AM

Thanks for your comments guys. Because the base is so poor they seem to want to pave a thick layer of asphalt which actually makes the problem worse because once a pothole forms the depth is like a bunker on a Scottish golf course. Hook a wheel in there and you can cause some real damage!

pacificobob - 2-9-2024 at 04:12 PM

I've heard more developed countries have better roads. Perhaps those locations would serve the needs of some better.

stillnbaja - 2-9-2024 at 07:10 PM

Quote: Originally posted by pacificobob  
I've heard more developed countries have better roads. Perhaps those locations would serve the needs of some better.



yet everyone yearns for the charm of "old baja":lol:

Don't need no stinking asphalt!

AKgringo - 2-9-2024 at 07:36 PM

Quote: Originally posted by stillnbaja  
Quote: Originally posted by pacificobob  
I've heard more developed countries have better roads. Perhaps those locations would serve the needs of some better.



yet everyone yearns for the charm of "old baja":lol:



I preferred driving down hwy 5 before it was paved all the way!

Marc - 2-29-2024 at 10:08 AM

Quote: Originally posted by AKgringo  
Quote: Originally posted by stillnbaja  
Quote: Originally posted by pacificobob  
I've heard more developed countries have better roads. Perhaps those locations would serve the needs of some better.



yet everyone yearns for the charm of "old baja":lol:



I preferred driving down hwy 5 before it was paved all the way!

THAT ROAD! What memories!

David K - 2-29-2024 at 10:33 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Marc  
Quote: Originally posted by AKgringo  
Quote: Originally posted by stillnbaja  
Quote: Originally posted by pacificobob  
I've heard more developed countries have better roads. Perhaps those locations would serve the needs of some better.



yet everyone yearns for the charm of "old baja":lol:



I preferred driving down hwy 5 before it was paved all the way!

THAT ROAD! What memories!


In 1974, south of Puertecitos:





Next year, 1975:





My final drive on the original Gonzaga Bay Road, prior to the new grading of 1986-7, was in 1979, southbound:


This is the same grade (I believe) as in my 1974 photo, northbound.

Marc - 2-29-2024 at 11:31 AM

Bad roads bring good people!

stillnbaja - 2-29-2024 at 11:54 AM

and one guy in charge of maintaining that road.....

Groundwater, it's not just a Baja problem.

AKgringo - 2-29-2024 at 01:13 PM

About a mile from where I am right now, Nevada County has repaired a section of a well used road that potholes every few years. Right now there is water coming up through the alligator cracks that have formed since the last repair!

Since it is a recurring problem, I can't imagine why it didn't occur to them to install a French drain to give the spring an outlet other than cracks in the pavement.

David K - 2-29-2024 at 01:50 PM

Never saw the 'one guy', but his wheel barrel with a donation sign was seen by us (in the 60s, south of the big grades)... There is a photo of it in Cliff Cross's 1970 guide.

Not just a guy, but a village....

AKgringo - 2-29-2024 at 02:15 PM

I took the road headed east from La Puisima after the 2014 Baja 1k. I believe that SCORE paid the locals to smooth out the washboard on the east side of the grade out to where the course turned south.

There was a good size group of men spread over a couple of miles with rakes, and shovels smoothing out the road. They were supported by women and children with lunches, shade and water stations, and everyone was smiling!

thebajarunner - 2-29-2024 at 04:04 PM

I saw "That Guy" several times back in 1972, pre-running the 500 loop up and over the "Sisters"

Each time we saw him he was scampering up from where he had been sitting in the shade, adjusting his hat and grabbing his shovel.
Over several trips there was absolutely no discernable progress on fixing the street, just a rather creative "hustle" if I must say so.

freediverbrian - 2-29-2024 at 05:05 PM

After the hurricane couple of years ago that washed out many sections of hwy 5, you were able to see the cross sections of the road. With the bed of large rocks followed by smaller rocks and sand with 3" of asphalt. And this is the new road built only five years ago. Not good

Mori - 1-3-2025 at 08:56 AM

I've driven Mexicali to Cabo twice since September and the potholes have grown in size and number over the past few months. There are some sections between Chapala and Guerro and also between Mulege and La Paz where you'd be better off if they took all the pavement out and just graded the dirt rather than having potholes like pot bunkers on a Scottish golf course waiting to rip a wheel off!

We passed a guy north of Villa Jesus Maria who had flipped his motorcycle into the desert, no doubt swerving or panic braking for one of the many deep potholes in the area. He was being assisted and we got the Angelos Verdes to respond but he would have been better off not launching himself off the highway in the first place.

Some will say that you should only drive a Baja capable vehicle in the Baja but the whole point of pavement is to provide a surface capable of safely supporting vehicles designed for pavement and to increase the average velocity. I'm sure that the truckers and bus drivers are vociferously complaining about it but what's needed is a company on both sides of the state border to be paid a retainer to work on the problem continuously.

AKgringo - 1-3-2025 at 09:23 AM

I seems to me that the southbound lanes are much worse than the northboud side. While the main problem is sub-standard construction, I am guessing that trucks are heading south with full loads and returning north with less than truckloads, or empty.

mtgoat666 - 1-3-2025 at 09:52 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Mori  

Some will say that you should only drive a Baja capable vehicle in the Baja...


What is a “baja-capable” vehicle? Most cars with durable normal-profile tires should be adequate. The low profile tires don't mix well with potholes.

Baja highways always have always had problems; just be aware, and dont drive so fast that you cant react in time for surprise road conditions.

PaulW - 1-3-2025 at 10:01 AM

Yes some new cars come with 20-24" rims and no spare tire.
A disaster waiting to happen.
Met a guy at the tire shop who had on a new car, at least had a miniature spare and he was told he would have to wait at least 3 days to get a new tire shipped from Mexicali to San Felipe.
What would a person do if all he had was a tire inflator and no spare.
Not Baja ready

[Edited on 1-3-2025 by PaulW]

Yes, 2024 was the tear of the pothole!

AKgringo - 1-6-2025 at 02:59 PM

I hope 2025 is the year of the permanent repairs! I doubt that will be the case though.

Now that I am headed north, many of those holes on the southbound lanes have jumped to the other side of the road!

baja-chris1 - 1-6-2025 at 04:56 PM

It does seem they have gotten worse on highway 1. The issue I'm finding is they are so bad that you come around a corner and someone is fully in your lane coming at you trying to avoid potholes in their lane.
Just have to slow down and expect the unexpected moreso than normal.

I would not be surprised if the moto mentioned in the first post was due to some car swerving into his lane to avoid a pothole thus running the moto off the road.

mtgoat666 - 1-6-2025 at 05:53 PM

Need to turn 1 into a toll road so they can generate funds to maintain the road.

SFandH - 1-7-2025 at 10:42 AM

Just drove Mulege to Loreto
Big, deep potholes
D⁶8angerous, stressful driving

David K - 1-7-2025 at 11:54 AM

Quote: Originally posted by mtgoat666  
Need to turn 1 into a toll road so they can generate funds to maintain the road.


It is a federal highway. Any toll road must have a free parallel road, per Mexican law.
Funds will still go into pockets instead of pavement.
The maintenance money must be in the federal budget. The next move is to find out why no work is happening.

4x4abc - 1-7-2025 at 12:30 PM

Quote: Originally posted by mtgoat666  
Quote: Originally posted by Mori  

Some will say that you should only drive a Baja capable vehicle in the Baja...


What is a “baja-capable” vehicle? Most cars with durable normal-profile tires should be adequate. The low profile tires don't mix well with potholes.

Baja highways always have always had problems; just be aware, and dont drive so fast that you cant react in time for surprise road conditions.


Baja capable vehicle?

real 4WD
tires with a minimum of /60 aspect ratio
add a calm driver
the lose nut behind the steering wheel is always where it starts

mtgoat666 - 1-7-2025 at 04:48 PM

Imagine what the roads will be like if we get some rain this winter. Though it is looking like we are in a biblical drought here in san diego and northern baja, so maybe we will not see rain this winter, or ever again….

mtgoat666 - 1-7-2025 at 04:52 PM

Quote: Originally posted by David K  
Quote: Originally posted by mtgoat666  
Need to turn 1 into a toll road so they can generate funds to maintain the road.


It is a federal highway. Any toll road must have a free parallel road, per Mexican law.


It’s mexico. Abiding by laws is fluid. Perhaps they can bulldoze alternative dirt tracks using the toll money :light: :thumbup:

Mulege Canuck - 1-8-2025 at 05:51 PM

Worst road conditions I have seen in 12 years of driving down here.

Mex 1/5 jct to Jesus Maria is terrible. Drive slow, be safe. We had one close call as a vehicle moved into our lane to avoid a pot hole at high speed.

SFandH - 1-9-2025 at 11:36 AM

A road crew was filling potholes yesterday between Loreto and Mulege.

mtgoat666 - 1-9-2025 at 03:20 PM

Quote: Originally posted by SFandH  
A road crew was filling potholes yesterday between Loreto and Mulege.


The road i have seen has many potholes to fix, but the road also has many miles of raveled or alligator cracked pavement that needs to be milled/topped or replaced.
One pothole-patching crew ain't gonna make a dent in the problem!

SFandH - 1-9-2025 at 09:15 PM

Quote: Originally posted by mtgoat666  
Quote: Originally posted by SFandH  
A road crew was filling potholes yesterday between Loreto and Mulege.


The road i have seen has many potholes to fix, but the road also has many miles of raveled or alligator cracked pavement that needs to be milled/topped or replaced.
One pothole-patching crew ain't gonna make a dent in the problem!


They were filling the DEEP potholes, the wheel breakers. Better than nothing.

I've been driving Baja since 1986. I've never seen such big, deep potholes.

Udo - 1-10-2025 at 11:38 AM

Can you imagine the economic impact on Baja California if they re-paved Mex-1 and Mex 5? The word would get out and tourism would double!
Quote: Originally posted by stillnbaja  
Quote: Originally posted by pacificobob  
I've heard more developed countries have better roads. Perhaps those locations would serve the needs of some better.



yet everyone yearns for the charm of "old baja":lol:

surfhat - 1-10-2025 at 11:52 AM

So true Udo, the originator of the youth is wasted on the young sentiment. I just used it on another post so your timing is spot on.

There is another well-worn expression, more or less, good roads can bring people of kinds. Bad roads keep the good folks from having to deal with a lot of other types. My interpretation.

Peace love and fish tacos says enough for this nomad.

Lee - 1-10-2025 at 04:33 PM

People stay away from Baja because of bad roads? Can't be serious. People stay away because they're frightened of bad things happening. They think anyone traveling in Baja is crazy.

All it takes is a traffic stop and those people are never going back.

Light weights.

Anyone here giving some thought to never returning to Baja because of potholes? Raise your hand.

AKgringo - 1-10-2025 at 06:27 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Lee  
People stay away from Baja because of bad roads? Can't be serious. People stay away because they're frightened of bad things happening. They think anyone traveling in Baja is crazy.

All it takes is a traffic stop and those people are never going back.

Light weights.

Anyone here giving some thought to never returning to Baja because of potholes? Raise your hand.


I was disapointed when they paved the southern end of MX 5! :(

[Edited on 1-11-2025 by AKgringo]