Roman Roads (awesome or awful)

My son and I saw a neighbor pop out of a road (priority to the right) the other day on the way to school that got her to the same place a few seconds earlier than we did. I've followed her more than once and know I drive faster, so I tracked her down at school and asked her about it. She said it was a bumpy old Roman Road, but they took it every once in awhile to break up the monotony of driving the same route twice a day.
When we were out and about with our would-be sponsor, he took us on this road when wandering about looking for homes. I figured I'd try it out. My son was all excited to see a new road on the trip home, so we hit the road.

Oh my goodness! It was amazing and atrocious at the same time. Absolutely amazing that a road, built by the Romans, was still highly traveled. That afternoon, I was in awe that I was driving my little hybrid Prius, on all battery since the driving was slow, was moving along a road that was used by foot traffic and horses. Mind boggling really, that it was still in existence and used every day. Used every day by heavy machinery, like the honey wagons that we've followed (at a distance) every time we've been on it.
Awful in that it was SO BUMPY. It's made of bricks in the Sanpietrino style and has had very little renovation or update since it was built. (I've looked to see when this style was used and haven't found any good data) There are a few patches, but for the most part, the 3 mile stretch or road is original. My son now calls it, "The Bumpy Road." As in, "Mommy, lets take the bumpy road to school today." And I thought it was rough going in my little Prius. Today we had the '92 Wanda Wagon, in desperate needs of shocks, she is. It is a nice little drive, other than the bumps. It drops us off in Masnuy St. Pierre (Man-wee), which is a cute village and then we get to be the jerks on a priority to the right road pulling out in front of others. (which we don't because it's scary)
The longevity of architecture amazes me. Yes, it's bumpy in today's standards, no doubt about it. But, the Belgians have kept it and used it daily and it's in amazing shape. Our DOT guys in the states build roads all the time that don't have half the staying power, and in Nebraska, the gravel roads are less safe.
There are just some things that make me shake my head. I AM DRIVING ON ROMAN ROADS....to pre-school. Awesome.