America's beautiful but pothole-filled dirt roads and those who love them and hate them (sometimes secretly)

Riders on a dirt road in Chatham, New York. Heather Uhlar, right, who grew up in the area, started the Chatham Dirt Road Coalition, which has 1,300 members. (Photo by Lauren Lancaster for The New York Times)

Dirt roads are _______? A heritage. Cheap. Expensive. Distinctive. Able to remove transmissions. "For one town on the Hudson River, the soul of the place is found in its dirt roads. That is, unless you have to drive on them in bad weather," writes Jim Zarroli of The New York Times.

Chatham, N.Y., is part of the ongoing American argument over to maintain or to pave dirt roads. Zarroli presents Heather Uhlar, a dirt-road enthusiast, who "spent many happy hours riding her pony along the dirt roads . . . stopping here and there to swim in a creek or amble through rolling pastures flecked with asters and goldenrods. Even then, she understood that Chatham’s dirt roads were something wonderful." Uhlar told Zarroli, “I just always thought dirt roads gave our area character. They made us special.”

Uhlar was so dismayed when "some of the prettiest roads get paved over . . she helped start a nonprofit, the Chatham Dirt Road Coalition, which lobbies to promote an appreciation for dirt roads and slow the advance of the asphalt trucks." But not everyone is down with dirt. Jeff Antalek, Chatham’s road superintendent, told Zarroli, “I’ve never gotten a call from anybody that lives on a paved road that told me they want me to tear it up and turn it into an unpaved road." He lives on a dirst road, and "I have antique cars, and it’s a royal pain driving them in and out. They get dirty, even just sitting in my barn because of the dust off the road.”

"Not everyone shares Ms. Uhlar’s enthusiasm for dirt roads," Zarroli reports. "Unpaved byways are difficult to maintain and costlier in the long run than gravel; they are also muddy in ‌spring and dusty in ‌summer. . . . Coalition members don’t dispute that dirt roads are expensive and occasionally a nuisance. They simply agree that the hassle and extra cost to maintain them are well worth it."

John Wapner, a psychologist who lives in an 1852 farmhouse in Chatham, told Zarroli, "It’s different walking on a dirt road than it is walking on a macadam road. You can drive fast on asphalt, he said, but dirt roads force you to slow down, take in the scenery and enjoy the rural quiet. You notice things you wouldn’t have otherwise. It feels to me like you’re walking on the land, not over the land."

So far in Chatham, the push to pave has not won out over the charming heritage of dirt. "Partly for budget reasons, Chatham hasn’t embarked on a major paving project," Zarroli adds. "But some town officials privately acknowledge that the coalition’s efforts have also made them reluctant to broach the subject. . . . Of course, some people in town would love to see an asphalt truck come their way."