Being a fan of The Pikes Peak hill climb I heard about this lawsuit that means this year is likely to be the end of an era racing up the hill on the gravel sections.
The mountain is likely to be fully tarmacked by next years running of the race.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m.../ai_n16872302/The work is the result of a 1997 lawsuit by the Sierra Club accusing the city of Colorado Springs -- which operates the highway - - of violating environmental regulations by allowing gravel from the road to roll down the mountain.
is it just me or is that statement a bit mad!? I couldnt find the actual article about the lawsuit but it just baffles me that a judge somehwere sat there and said “yeah, i think its illegal for the State to allow NATURE to take its course!”, if the wind and rain is gonna blow the gravel down or over the road then what in the hell can the State really do about it?
so they have decided to tarmac the whole mountain to prevent legal action, but they are only putting roads down, not sidewalks, so theres still a few million years of Gravel on the side of their newly set roads.
Ad into this the cost of repairing the stretches of road that are gonna get chewed up in different parts due to the varying temps on the massive mountain. Tarmac likes cold/freezing temps less than us humans, and the price to the State is surely gonna skyrocket every year!?
Im just a little pissed about this now as i’m planning a tour of the USA in a few years and was looking forward to taking a trip up the mountain. But these cardboard pants wearing eco bastards are spoiling all my fun!
(ill still head up there but it wont be the same as being able to hoon about, safely, on the mixed surface)
/end rant]
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Originally Posted by MuddyGut
