By Elisabeth Bont

Community News Editor

About 40 percent of the roads in and around Grand Rapids are in need of repair, according to a recent report, making it the tenth worst city in the nation.

The report, put out by an nonprofit transportation research group called The Road Information Program (TRIP), placed Detroit fourth on the list and concluded that nearly one-fourth of major roads in the nation's largest urban areas need immediate repair. Boston and New Orleans were ranked first and second.

``Motorists in our nation's largest cities are in for a rough ride every time they drive unless needed road improvements are made,'' said TRIP executive director William M. Wilkins.

TRIP, which receives its information from the Federal Highway Administration, collects data on urban regions of more than 1 million residents.

Since Grand Rapids' population is only about 120,000, ``the region that includes Grand Rapids actually includes four counties,'' said James A. Jackson, Direction of Streets and Sanitation for the city.

This means bad conditions in surrounding areas can reflect poorly on the city.

``It isn't the city of Grand Rapids whose streets are so bad,'' said Jackson.

Despite how the results were evaluated, Grand Rapids has many roads in need of repair, argues Jerry Byrne, Director of Maintenance for the Kent County Road Commission.

Grand Rapids' road system ``needs constant investment,'' said Byrne, who is not surprised the city ranked so high on the list.

Byrne blames road problems on the region's weather, which causes a series of freeze/thaw cycles that weaken the pavement.

When sun light or salt melts snow, the water runs through small cracks in the pavement, said Byrne. Frozen ground and cold temperatures turn the water into a layer of frost beneath the road, instead of allowing it to drain away as it would in warmer weather.

The next time snow on the surface melts, it gets stuck ``between the pavement and that frozen layer, and then the water can't go away,'' said Byrne. Instead, the water fills cracks in the road, widening them when it freezes during the night.

Although most drivers don't notice daily freeze/thaw cycles, all of them have to deal with the problems they cause.

``I'm always dodging cavernous potholes with my car,'' said Calvin junior Phil Oegema. ``Burton St., especially between Breton and Kalamazoo, is like driving over railroad ties for miles.''

These rough roads cost motorists an average of $360 per year in ``additional tire wear, extra fuel consumption and vehicle deterioration,'' said Wilkins.

The stresses of winter weather are compounded by a rapid rise in traffic over the last decade.

According to TRIP, urban travel has increased by 30 percent since 1990 and expected to increase by approximately 45 percent by 2020. Heavy truck traffic is expected to rise even more dramatically.

Even growth in suburban areas is a stress on urban roads, said Byrne.

``Every new house that gets built is that many more heavy trucks, more trash trucks, more school buses,'' he said.

Despite the increase in road-wear, Jackson believes the city's roads are improving: ``Grand Rapids has actually undertaken a massive project to overhaul our streets based on a residential survey in 2000,'' starting by rating each of the city's 564 miles of streets and prioritizing high-need areas.

Road repair projects for this summer include a major reconstructions of Lake Dr. at Wealthy St., the intersection of I-196 and I-131 downtown and Leonard St. between Covell and Walker.

Recent proposed cuts in federal highway funding, estimated at $8.6 billion, have caused concern that needed repair work will slow or cease.

But according to Byrne, cuts wouldn't affect small repair projects on city streets.

``We don't get federal aid to patch pot holes or to haul snow,'' he said. Instead, most money for the Road Commission comes from the Statewide fuel tax, vehicle registration and license fees.

The County Road Commission plans to treat over 125 miles of road surface this year, 8% of the county's paved road miles.

Grand Rapids also plans to spend $14.5 million on repairing and resurfacing roads this year, said Jackson.

According to the Streets and Sanitation website, the department annually resurfaces approximately 400,000 square yards of pavement and repairs 4,000 potholes.

Despite these efforts, however, many drivers are unsatisfied.

``The roads are pretty bad, and it doesn't seem like they repair them,'' said senior Sara Crowe.

``It seems that the city isn't that into street maintenance and plowing,'' agreed senior Kristin VanHeukelem.

According to Grounds Supervisor Charles Huizinga, Calvin was once plagued with rough roads.

``We were out every spring filling potholes,'' he said. ``Our annual asphalt budget was $20,000 a year when Byker came. That doesn't come close to repaving that parking lots or our back roads.''

But since President Byker has ``made a commitment to the roads'' on campus, they have improved dramatically, said Huizinga.

Calvin's next big project, repaving the ring road from the chapel to the East Beltline underpass, has been put on hold until construction on the new overpass has been finished.

``It just didn't make sense to invest a lot of money in those stretches until the heavy equipment is out of there,'' Huizinga said.