Ever Wonder What Causes Potholes?

If you live in a part of the country, like I do in the Midwest, where the appearance of dreaded "potholes" in roadways can or has caused damage to your vehicle at, then you will know full well why I was drawn to writing an article about "how and why" they exist.

If you are fortunate enough to not have experience the hazards that roadway potholes present then consider yourself fortunate, and just sit back and enjoy reading yet another reason why you may wonder why anyone would want to live in parts of the country where these often times hidden dangers exist in the first place.

If you have never experienced the bone-jarring impact of having your vehicle first drop into, then claw its way out of a pothole, consider yourself lucky. If you have never had to watch a hubcap of yours become a flying saucer after becoming dis-lodged from your vehicle because of a pothole encounter, also consider your self lucky. Finally, if you have never had to discuss damage to your automobile with someone for the city responsible for the roads where the pothole exists, REALLY consider yourself lucky, because even though they claim they will make things right "publicly", the process "privately is very similar to the process of a tooth extraction, slow and painful.

So all that said, I did think it would be interesting to share what exactly causes these roadway hazards in the first place. It really is very simple, as it takes the weather to go through freeze and thawing cycles to virtually ensure that potholes will make an appearance under these extreme conditions. Most interesting to me is the fact that seem to be able to pop up almost overnight to be sure.

Here we go then, have your notepads ready? Good. First, to start the process of a pothole's formation, moisture must first make its way through openings in the surface of the pavement that begins to "soften up" the underside or base of the road. Here just below the actual visible surface of the roadway this moisture gathers and freezes under severe conditions or temperature drops.

Second, as with anytime water freezes, it expands and or pushes outward, or in this case upward as well. This pressure must go somewhere, and it forces the pavement up, weakening it and the traffic that continues to travel over the weakened pavement further causes stress to the affected area.

The third step waits patiently for sunshine to make an appearance and dry up the moisture after the damage to the pavement has been done. At this point, a hole is now left behind, and fourth, since there is now essentially no underside or base to the pavement, traffic that continues to travel over the weakened spot eventually collapses the spot.

So, the fifth and final step to the formation of a pothole is the collapsing of the weakened area. Until road crews can be dispatched to deal with the original hazard created, it will continue to get larger under the stress of traffic continually riding over the edges of the hole and dropping into and out of the pothole itself.

What can be done about potholes? Short term, not much really. All road crews can really do is utilize some sort of "cold patch" mix to get them through to warmer conditions in Spring where more permanent solutions may be considered.

The City of Cleveland currently uses a high performance cold patch mix of made up from asphalt, aggregate stone, fuel oil mix and a proprietary additive to temporarily fill potholes.

Preventative measure are taken in warmer weather conditions to minimize the appearance or formation of potholes, but their appearance is almost inevitable in areas of the country where the right back and forth between weather conditions exists, so what is a driver to do?

For starters, as with any other driving, keep your eyes squarely on the road in front of you. Also, potholes can be "deceiving" as they make just at times look like "black ice" so if you can safely move around anything that looks like either a hole or black ice, take measures to do so.

Lastly, if you have spotted a pothole, do yourself and your fellow travelers a favor and take a moment to call it in to the city. Do not assume that someone else already has, and to be honest, one can only assume that the potholes that cause the most phones calls in will be prioritized as the the ones needing the most urgent attention. In other words, the squeaky wheel gets the grease, or in this case, the biggest hazard gets the patch. Safe Motoring!

Sources: City of Cleveland, Ohio Department of Transportation