How to learn about road conditions - i.e., is a route you choose a rough road? How do truckers learn about it?

[daveyjo]

I can sometimes see where states may list a road's condition, but actually understanding what the message means is another thing.  Do truckers have some sources that might alert them?  Something that might more clearly say " this road is terrible and has lots of potholes, or the road is so rough it shakes your rig to pieces, or verbiage like that?  I took one of the freeways across PA some years ago. and the road was terribly rough, and I want to avoid another trip like that.  I don't remember which freeway or freeways I took, but I am having to go that way again and I am concerned.  I am traveling from Cape Cod to St. Paul and I can see several routes to take from along the great lakes to going through PA on a southern route.  I am willing to go a couple hundred miles further to avoid shaking my rig to pieces, and state roads sometime are a great alternative.  Anyone have some recent experiences they would like to share?

Dave Jones

[Martinvz]

Getting an overview of road conditions would be great but I have not found a source. Now I have a new search to do.

I think you should expect a wide variety of answers about the roughness of a road. I tried to get an idea of SC road conditions but the states do not seem to publish it telling the public how bad it might be. 
I just traveled the I-95 thru SC and there were no pot holes but the surface is very rough as the upper layer of blacktop has been scoured over time. It was not great but not bad enough to make use of the fast lane. The border with NC was visually a big change and noticeably smoother in NC.

I find the I-80 not to be great and there is the occasional bump at a bridge. Overall tolerable.

 

[Davidsharp]

I quit driving coast to coast as commercial driver,and we get road info from other truckers on cb. Also a pa resident told me only 2 seasons in that state. Winter and construction.