In cities, counties and rural areas where roads have recently received a nice, smooth resurfacing of clean asphalt, one problem for motorists still remains. It’s rough railroad crossings, the jarring experience of passing over the damaging, uneven surfaces immediately surrounding railway lines.

Whether that crossing is at-grade or slightly elevated, it appears to be a cruel joke. The  car or truck might be traveling at a good clip, with no reason to break for the tracks because there are no red flashing signals, lowered gates or trains within sight or earshot. Still, the driver has to break on the approach because his or her vehicle actually risks damage from the road assault. Irregular pavement breaks might cause a three, four or even five-inch step for the wheels to climb. This can flatten tires, wreck the front end of the car and weaken brakes and suspension systems.

The record level of snowfall along the eastern corridor at the end of October 2011 caused enough damage on its own. Millions of homes and businesses went without electrical power as a result of downed power lines. As fall turns into winter, we’re reminded that where nature intersects with civilization, man-made things have a tendency to fall apart.

This snowstorm did the region the disfavor of arriving while the leaves where still on the trees. Those leaves caught more of the wet snow, which then burdened branches that broke and fell on electrical power lines. The lines broke and power was cut off on a massive scale: 830,000 customers in Connecticut were out at the peak, as were 483,000 in Massachusetts, 380,000 in New Jersey and 300,000 in New York State. In Maine, 160,000 customers lacked electricity, as did 315,000 in New Hampshire, 43,000 in Maryland, 200,000 in Pennsylvania, 20,000 in Rhode Island and 7,500 in Vermont.