Q: Hey, Honk: Around 25 years ago, Caltrans was doing an experiment on the 405 Freeway in Irvine. Workers embedded metal strips in the outside two lanes where trucks primarily drive to see if this reinforcement would prevent potholes from forming. Sounded like a great idea. The strips are still visible today with no potholes, just not in the right two lanes as the freeway was widened. Did they forget about the idea? Can The Honk dig up the answer?
– Ken Hardy, Newport Beach
A: The ol’ Honkster has one of the best shovels in the business.
Those strips, called “dowel bars,” were somewhat rare at the time.
“Approximately 25 years ago, Caltrans retrofitted several concrete-pavement truck lanes with dowel bars,” Nathan Abler, a Caltrans spokesman, told Honk in an email. “At that time, California did not incorporate dowel bars in concrete pavements, making its freeways ideal candidates for this retrofit.
“Since then,” he said, “Caltrans has updated its pavement-design practices to include dowel bars in all new … concrete pavement. These dowels are now placed during slab construction, eliminating the visible marks (once) left. …
“The dowel bars are installed at concrete slab joints to transfer traffic loads, reduce internal stresses, and minimize cracking, thereby extending the pavement’s service life (and leaving freeways) capable of handling higher traffic volumes and heavier loads.”
According to a news report at the time, the 405’s were 18 inches long with a diameter of 1.5 inches. Tens of thousands were installed.
Q: Hi Honk: I recently bought a 2021 car that didn’t have a front license plate. The dealership was no help in finding or replacing it. Am I legal driving without it? If not, how do I get a replacement plate?
– Randy Lubs, Torrance
A: Once you roll your ride off of the dealership’s lot as the car’s owner, not having a front plate could get you a citation.
Now, we are into truth around here in Honkland – any stroll or drive through any neighborhood will prove that many cars and trucks don’t have front license plates, so that violation, clearly, is not a priority for law enforcement.
Honk, though, prefers living a clean life and not giving officers a reason to pull him over – irritating his usual passenger, Mrs. Honk – so he is a two-plate man.
An easy enough problem to fix with the Department of Motor Vehicles, Randy, for a $27 fee.
“Yes, he would need to get new plates,” Chris Orrock, a DMV spokesman, told Honk. “Either online or in person.”
If you get your plates via an online order – Honk would – just make sure you are on the DMV’s website at dmv.ca.gov. There are firms that offer DMV services but possibly with an extra fee.
To ask Honk questions, reach him at honk@ocregister.com. He only answers those that are published. To see Honk online: ocregister.com/tag/honk. To see him on the social media platform X: @OCRegisterHonk
