Pothole pains: Crews take to streets to begin patching
As winter turns to spring, back to winter and into spring again, it is prime time for potholes to begin forming on local roadways.
The state Department of Transportation’s District 12 will spend more than $1.8 million and use about 1,900 tons of asphalt to fix potholes across Washington, Fayette, Greene and Westmoreland counties, according to the agency’s website.
“We’re always trying to maintain the surface of the roadways,” said Robb Dean, District 12’s assistant district executive for maintenance. “We will try to temporarily patch them in the wintertime.”
The weather plays a big part in the formation of potholes.
Tom Lovell, North Strabane Township’s director of public works, explained how the “freeze-thaw” effect leads to potholes.
“Asphalt really moves with the weather, temperature-wise. When the roads start to thaw or freeze, it expands and contracts,” Lovell said. He added that water seeps in as the pavement cracks, exacerbating the situation.
Lovell said they keep a list of potholes in the township and crews take note of any they encounter while on the road.
“Most of our roads are in really good shape,” Lovell said.
PennDOT similarly has maintenance workers keeping an eye out for potholes, and either repairing them or documenting them to be fixed later.
Drivers can also report potholes to PennDOT on the agency’s website or by calling 1-800-FIX-ROAD.
“Those locations will be sent over to our maintenance offices to notify them. They can address them as they receive them,” Dean said.
The owner of Canonsburg Auto Service on West Pike Street said he doesn’t have too many pothole-related repairs coming into the shop.
Rick Harton said it was a problem he encountered a lot more often when he worked near Cleveland.
“They patch them a lot better around here than they do in Ohio,” Harton said.
According to Harton, if you do hit a pothole the biggest problem you will have is with the rims of your tires.
“The rim pinches the side of the tire and puts a bubble on it,” Harton said.
Potholes can also affect the alignment of tires.
“If you keep hitting potholes out there, it’s good to get your front end aligned after a year because it throws them out,” Harton said.
Dean also asks that drivers be mindful of the safety of road crews when they are addressing potholes.
“When you see our folks out there working, give them the space they need. They are doing the best they can … We are making improvements to the roadway to get them to their final destination in a safe manner,” Dean said.
Rocco Gagliardi, spokesperson for Pennsylvania State Police Troop B, reminds drivers that fines are doubled in work zones. That can include areas where crews are performing simple maintenance, and may not have much signage posted.
“You really got to read PA law; it can be not as entertaining, but sometimes it really doesn’t even have to be that flashing light. Can the average person determine that this is a work zone? That still counts. You really got to watch, because those fines can double very fast if you’re speeding through a work zone,” Gagliardi said.
When approaching a work zone, drivers are required to slow down and, if possible, move over to the adjacent lane.
According to Gagliardi, state police have begun to get more reports of accidents and traffic violations.
“People take out sections of PennDOT properties, railing, signage,” Gagliardi said.
According to Gagliardi, that is part and parcel with the weather getting nicer.
“It’s nicer out, and people are trying to have windows down. There are motorcycles out. Everyone is going to be out driving. It’s just part of the nature of warm weather,” Gagliardi said.