Replying to a message of Cindy Haglund to Bob Ackley:

 CH> The roads crack because they were laid too fast so I've read,

I don't think they let the ground properly settle before they go to work
paving it.  It should sit for probably a year before they pave it.

Of course, in this area there is considerable 'frost heave' caused moisture
in the ground freezing, the frost line is about 3 feet down in this area.
Streets - even streets that have been paved for decades - break up under
this stress.  The solution, of course, is not to pave the streets with concrete
or asphalt, just gravel/crushed rock; run a grader over it every month or so
and it's fine.  That's what's in front of my house and it works just fine.

 CH> the
 CH> trees die due to buried construction debris poisoning the soil so I
 CH> am told,

More likely because they're transplants and they're not taken care of.  Transplants
have to be watered regularly for at least a year.  Since I moved here (late 2003)
I've planted just about 50 trees and only lost a few (and most of those to insect
damage, now I spray new arrivals every couple of weeks).

My 'orchard' now has four apple, three pear (and one more coming), four peach,
five cherry (and one more coming), four paw paw, two hazelnut, two hickory,
and two chestnut (there are also two black walnuts on the property).  I planted
all but the walnuts, they came with the place and boy are they messy.  I don't
count mulberries, there are several ...

 CH> and why the hell they take out the wild flowers which up the
 CH> side of man made embankments... helps stem erosion ie: mud... ???

It's cheaper to clear cut the property and bulldoze everything than it is to try
to work around existing trees and plants.  One development near Bellevue, NE,
did that, and the housing sold well as the whole development had many full grown
native trees from the start.

--- FleetStreet 1.19+