Pothole Detection Via Smartphone Crowdsourcing

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LVL5’s “Pavdar” system – recording smartphone video from dashboards – may be the future of pothole detection. Already, it knows Michigan roads are the worst. It’s very hard to get a national, state or even citywide count of potholes on our streets and highways. Which is problematic in two ways: To repair them, first you have to know where they are. Second, to budget for those repairs, you have to know how many and how bad they are. Google Satellite hasn’t yet managed to provide a count because the technology…read more

04-29-2019
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Michigan Boy Fills Potholes on His Own

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Monte Scott is just the latest to fill those craters with his own initiative. Meanwhile, the state’s governor and legislature mull a huge gas tax increase. When both his mother and grandmother got flat tires on their cars from potholes on their street in late March, 12-year-old Monte Scott took matters into his own hands. He got a shovel, a barrel (without wheels) and some dirt, then filled in a few dozen potholes on the street outside his home in Muskegon Heights in western Michigan. The story went viral –­…read more

04-09-2019
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Spring 2019 Pothole Report: It’s Nasty Out There

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This is the time of year when potholes naturally plague driving everywhere. After some crazy weather patterns, 2019 is turning out to be a doozie, according to NPR and many tweets. As winter turns to spring, roads turn to battlefields – and the Spring of 2019 is no exception. After a relatively mild early winter the majority of America’s Midwest and Northeast was dealt with the “bomb cyclone” in March that came about five weeks after a polar vortex of deeply freezing temperatures affected much of the same region. Those…read more

03-19-2019
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World of Asphalt Conference Had Rough Patches

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The conference itself, held in Indianapolis, achieved its goals. But attendees noticed something before they got to the convention center: Lots of potholes. Every two years the asphalt industry gathers for the “World of Asphalt Show & Conference,” a confab of more than 450 of the paving industry’s leading manufacturers and service providers. The convention is always held in a North American city, providing a chance for people in the paving industry to dedicate a few days of the industry’s off-season to education and commerce. The 2019 show was in…read more

03-07-2019
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TRB Report Looks at Deteriorating Interstate Highways

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Interstate highways get a much higher load of traffic, particularly in the eCommerce era vs. when they were built, causing expensive wear and tear. One solution: end the ban on interstate tolls? Here are a few facts anyone with an interest in better pavement, fewer potholes, and interstate highway travel should note: • Over the last three-and-a-half decades (from 1980-2015), vehicle miles traveled on interstate highways grew by 160 percent. On all other public roads the growth was 90 percent. • Interstate highways carry 25 percent of all vehicle miles…read more

02-28-2019
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