A pothole is a collapse of the asphalt pavement, often caused by the water in the soil structure along with the impact of traffic passing over the affected area. The water weakens the supporting soil, and then the traffic breaks up the surface in the affected area. This is exasperated by freezing and thawing during the winter months.
What can the average person do about all this? One option is to report any pothole that you see to city officials. There are several smartphone apps that help you to let the authorities know where potholes are. A second option is to be more informed about the promising new technology for pothole repair that makes it much quicker and easier to get the work done. The third option is to try to encourage a political solution, since many of the potholes are due to a lack of road construction funding.
Citizen pothole reporting via smartphone apps is becoming a common option. There are now several apps that combine the basic smart phone tools, such a camera, global positioning systems (GPS) and email functions. The most basic approach would be to photograph the pothole and try to get one of your elected officials to help you pass it on to the right department.
In one innovative program, the town of West Hartford, Conn., has launched a free app for drivers to report potholes that they see along the roads. The app is called “Your Gov,” and it allows users to help city officials map out exactly where the problem is with GPS tracking and photographs.
There is also some promising new technology that can fix potholes much faster. The Ohio Department of Transportation completed a one-year test of a spray technology for filling potholes. The device they tested can finish paving a pothole within 30 minutes, much less time than the conventional methods. Besides saving time, the new method also reduces the need for multiple repairs to the same pothole, and the spray technology can be used year-round. Previously pothole repair was typically only done between the months of April through October.
There is always the option of a do-it-yourself crusade. Several different products are available at local hardware stores for quick road repairs. Most of them seem to include a pre-mixed slab of asphalt that can be dropped in the pothole. The slab dries quickly so you don’t need to stand guard for very long. These do-in-yourself kits are only a temporary solution and should only be used for private roads or driveways.
Another solution would be through the political process. The amount that states are able and willing to spend on road construction and pothole repair makes a big difference. Those states that budget for adequate road construction often make the emergency repairs. Those without have delayed resurfacing of roads, allowing the problem to worsen. Cutting road repair spending is an easy way for politicians to balance the budget without immediately angering voters. This may have to change if we really want a long-term solution to this problem.
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