I nominate Monroe County's Rauch Road to be the absolute worst stretch of pavement known to mankind.
(with apologies to Tim the Enchanter)
To wit:
Follow only if ye be men of valour, for this road is so foul, so cruel that no man yet has fought with it and lived. Bones of full fifty men lie strewn about its lair. So, brave knights, if you do doubt your courage or your strength, come no further, for death awaits you all with nasty, big, pointy-edged potholes.
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Web Site
http://historymike.blogspot.com/
Notes
Michael is a historian, journalist, and geek who writes on a wide variety of topics, about some of which he actually knows a few things. When not plotting world domination, he enjoys playing guitar, gardening, and plotting ways to outwit the squirrels that pillage his bird feeders.
I should add that a recent trip down said highway resulted in the destruction of the rear struts on my old faithful Toyota Corolla, a $434 lesson in avoiding roads that one does not know.
http://historymike.blogspot.com/
As far as Monroe County roads go, Wilcox Road in Dundee is one of the worst too. (To successfully navigate the road, you have to know the location of all the gaping potholes and be prepared to steer around them.)
Of course, Wilcox Road is not as heavily traveled as Rauch Road, I suspect. One of the exits to Cabela's comes out on Wilcox Road, but the portion between Cabela's and M-50 isn't nearly as bad as the portion north of Cabela's.
In general, Lucas County roads are far superior to Monroe County roads. You don't even need to see a marker for the state line on any of the north-south roads coming out of Sylvania or RIchfield Twp...the potholes mark the change from OH to MI.
I read/heard some where that Michigan has the most miles of unpaved roads of any state. Maybe they were referring the the "paved" roads as well.
People move to Michigan for the cheaper taxes, but have to spend more to fix their cars and ride their bikes on the road.
You always know when you hit the Michigan line when you're traveling up I75 when the road looks like meteor show hit the ground.
Ive been told by a Rauch Rd resident that the issue is that Rauch Rd (RR) is the border between two townships I believe. Neither township will claim ownership of the road, hence no one will ever do anything to upkeep it.
Personally if I lived on RR, I'd get my neighbors together and get myself a good lawyer to file a class action lawsuit against both townships. Those people living there pay hard earned tax dollars that go to the repair and upkeep of other roads in their townships while their own goes neglected.