The Amazing Spider Van And the Streets of Doom

摘要

A white Ford van routinely rumbles through Phoenix, mapping the grief passing below its tires. It's one of the so-called spider vans that roam the country, named for the arms that protrude from its roof dangling high-definition cameras. They record continuous images of the asphalt to create a literal street view for city engineers whose job it is to decide which roads will be repaved. Lasers up front collect data that are fed into six onboard computers to flag which potholes and cracks most need fixing. In early July, Phoenix's spider van drove down Devonshire Avenue, which was last resurfaced in 2001. The pavement got a number: 67 out of 100. It's now scheduled for repaving in 2018. "Our roads are in pretty tough shape," says Mark Glock, the city's deputy street transportation director, who adds that his annual budget is only $23 million. "We are on a 65-year cycle and we know pavement only lasts 35 years. We're very limited in our treatments."