‘Thump Pads’ give new temporary solution to potholes in Dayton area

Driving over a pothole can do serious damage to your vehicle, but there is a new product being used in Montgomery County, which may help protect your car.

For a typical quick pothole repair, road crews use cold patch, a recycled asphalt product, which can cost $50 and won’t likely last, according to Montgomery county road crews.

With the hundreds of potholes in Montgomery County, it’s hard to keep up with demand.

“Due to budget reasons we haven’t been able to resurface our roads as much as we should have the last 15 years,” said Montgomery County Engineer Paul Gruner.

Drivers in the U.S. pay about $3 billion annually to fix vehicles damaged by poor road conditions, according to AAA.

Montgomery County road crews are experimenting with Thump Pads, made by Cleveland-based company YeuPatch.

“It’s basically a quick repair for potholes that can be put down quickly,” said Montgomery County Engineer Paul Gruner, “it’s something new and we don’t have a lot of experience with yet, but we are trying it out and it may work in certain circumstances for us.”

Thump Pads are a reusable thick plastic pouch with multiple chambers containing a durable, heavy, filling. They come in small and large versions, cost about $100 dollars and last for up to six months, according to YeuPatch.

Road crews used four of them to fill a large pothole on Philadelphia Drive.

Highway worker James Elworth drove over the Thump Pad-filled pothole in a county truck and said it was a little rough, but reduced the impact by about half.

“Nothing is going to be better than asphalt or bagged asphalt, but in the case of an emergency if you didn’t have anything else I’d say that would help keep from tearing somebody’s car up,” said Elworth.

Gruner said the Thump Pads need further testing before they will be considered for widespread use.

About the Author