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Polymer-Modified Asphalt a “Game Changer” in Cold, Hot and Wet Conditions September 2011
In the widening gulf between municipal budgets and road pavement quality, is there any hope the roads will get fixed?
Every mayor in America – and Canada and much of the rest of the world – gets elected on a promise to fix potholes. But when elected officials settle into the executive suite they often find out they have about 30 cents available for every dollar needed to fix those potholes – and that putting off those repairs for three or four years will mean the math gets much, much worse. The pavement deteriorates exponentially over time while road maintenance budgets shrink.
Making matters worse, the throw-and-go method of using hot mix has two additional deficiencies. One is that its use is restricted in cold and rainy conditions. The other is because a low-quality hot mix rarely lasts more than a few months. Reapplication of hot-mix in warmer months multiplies material and labor costs several times over. Meanwhile, those mayors and their departments of streets get an earful from dissatisfied citizens who have damaged cars and drive in slower traffic due to rough pavement.
Bicycling and Potholes: Hazards and Solutions August 2011
When champion triathlete Linda Neary was on the road to victory at the 2003 Publix Family Fitness Weekend Coca-Cola Classic Triathlon Series in Nassau, Bahamas, she stopped during the run to check up on her closest competitor, Lotte Branigan of Vero Beach. Why? Branigan had fallen from tripping in a pothole on the course.
“I fell like that in Hawaii,” remarked Neary, who beat second-place finisher Branigan by a bare 14 seconds.
The fact is that triathletes know potholes. Two of the three legs in this competition – biking and running – often are staged on broken pavement, due to the fact that most venues are public streets and roads that are transformed into race courses just once a year.
Europeans Test Neon Asphalt Layer As Pothole Alert July 2011
One sign the pothole problem in Europe is increasing is when researchers come up with new and novel ways of managing them. In this case, it involves brightly colored asphalt.
In Europe, potholes are no less a problem than in the U.S. Roads built there before and after World War II are reaching the latter stages of their expected lifespan, and money is lacking to keep up on repairs.
How Do Potholes Form? July 2010
Maybe you call it a chuckhole or a kettle, but the causes of potholes by any name are many. Asphalt repair done right can fix most of it.
Anyone who claims to know the number of potholes in America must think they can count all the French fries sold at McDonald’s. Not only are there a gazillion of them, but there are new ones every day. Potholes are, unfortunately, a fact of life in a world of roads, where people and things have miles to travel.
Some potholes are just little cracks. And some could swallow an Escalade. Which is kind of the point: potholes grow bigger the longer they are left unfixed. They are almost alive.