2004 vs. 2019: Shoulder Conditions

Below are two photos of the same section of Rt. 60 taken 15 years apart.  In this year, 2019, I did my best to ride the driving lane and only use the shoulder as necessary to avoid traffic.  In '04, even with the cracks, I mostly rode the shoulder.  Times have changed.  Shoulders, although crucial to cyclists, very rarely get any love or attention from departments of transportation.

Here's the same stretch of road fifteen years later.  Note the widening cracks.  What you can't see in this photo are the very long sections covered in gravel and grit and old road surface cast off from the driving lane.  During my first '04 tour, the shoulder was somewhat cracked but otherwise clean.  Now, bigger, deeper, rougher cracks and debris describes the surface, which was true especially of the Havasu south section on Rt. 95.