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Visit two websites allowing drivers to pin-point potholes in their area.<\/strong><\/p>
 
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<h3>Pothole City<\/h3>
<a style="background-image: none;" href="http:\/\/www.potholecity.com\/" target="_blank"> <\/a><a href="http:\/\/www.pothole.info\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/pothole-city-e1271131790912.jpg"><\/a><\/p>
<a href="http:\/\/www.potholecity.com\/" target="_blank"> 
Visit Pothole City<\/a><\/p>
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<h3>Mark the Potholes<\/h3>
<a style="background-image: none;" href="http:\/\/www.boston.com\/news\/local\/massachusetts\/specials\/013009_pothole\/" target="_blank"> <\/a><a href="http:\/\/www.pothole.info\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/mark-the-potholes-e1271131775554.jpg"><\/a><\/p>
<a href="http:\/\/www.boston.com\/news\/local\/massachusetts\/specials\/013009_pothole\/" target="_blank"> 
Visit Mark the Potholes &#8211; Boston.com<\/a><\/p>
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Pothole Plotters

Quaker State motor oil recently began a marketing campaign asking consumers “Who has the world’s worst commute?” Forgiving their willful ignorance to include Cambodian motorbikes and Parisian pedi-cabbers, Americans have apparently come forward with some horrific feats of daily strife. Twenty-seven miles in two hours another with forty in three. Ridiculous mileage – years spent motionless in traffic.<\/p>
In a 2008 survey the worst commute belonged to the city of motorized angles, Los Angeles. These pavement grinders spend the majority of their day wafting smog into their lungs on their way to Universal studios, or in gridlock on their way to greet family members at John Wayne International Airport &#8211; an airport named after a man primarily known for riding a horse. Los Angelenos averaged 93 hours a year stuck in traffic.<\/p>
The third worst commute in the country was the DC-metro area, a bureaucrat-rich web of roads that includes Maryland, Virginia, and parts of West Virginia. Like quicksand commuters the streets tighten their grip on commuters looking to wiggle free, most eventually finding themselves even more delayed and frustrated as they look to escape I-95 and blaze a trail through suburban back roads. Nowhere in the DC Metro area is this type of navigational freestyle visible than on the side streets of Northern Virginia.<\/p>
Many of the roads now used by commuters to find their way home to dinner are being overused and under repaired. The smaller side roads, originally built for light traffic on weekends are being used as thoroughfares, causing the pavement to gap, rot, and pothole. In Northern Virginia who’s state is wealthy enough for repairs yet large enough to forget precincts, the problem is more pronounced.<\/p>
<blockquote>Potholes, fissures, and cracks in the road’s surface are being exploited by the expansion experienced in colder winters and warmer summers.<\/p><\/blockquote>
Potholes, fissures, and cracks in the road’s surface are being exploited by the expansion experienced in colder winters and warmer summers. The asphalt on side roads &#8211; which cost anywhere from $1 million to $30 million per mile &#8211; turns into a crumbled mess when the traffic from Interstate 95 spills onto roads meant for weekend grocery shopping and church Sundays; with tax revenue’s plummeting it’s more difficult to improve the increasingly used, yet historically less- important side roads.<\/p>
In Fredericksburg, a historic Virginia town 50 miles south of the nation’s capitol, roads have been depreciating for decades. Local commuters complain about water-filled potholes that alligator and split apart. Many of their complaints are in response to the increased traffic that has sputtered south from D.C. and into an ever-expanding urban sprawl.<\/p>
Population increases in new areas have forced politicians to take note of necessary improvements. Creigh Deeds, the Democratic candidate for Governor of Virginia in 2009 has addressed the issue, as has the Republican opponent, Lt. Gov. Bob McDonnell. Each plans to redirect funding from state coffers into transportation costs, with McDonnell stating on his Web site, “To attract business and jobs to Virginia, we need to make it easier for citizens to get to work, and for goods to get to the market.” Despite federal desires for increased spending in alternative energy sources and transportation options the need for dependable roads has only increased in the Commonwealth, and the next Governor would be well served to take notice &#8211; better roads means happier constituents.<\/p>
For the past ten years northern Virginia’s rapid expansion has caused many in the community to take note of long-term construction projects and their cost. In 1996 when Jim Gilmore, a Richmond Republican, ran for the governor’s office his platform was a simple extension of Reagonomics &#8211; decreased spending on non-essential government programs and fewer taxes. To win support for his measures his campaign turned from one of broad political terms to an easy to repeat political slogan, “Eliminate the Car Tax.” In Virginia as in several states around the country, including California, residents were forced to write a check at the end of the year for a small percentage of their cars worth. In some families, this yearly hit could be several thousands of dollars, and as much as American’s hate taxes taken out of their paycheck, they despise writing the check even more. While the Democratic Lt. Governor Don Beyer saw this policy as detrimental to Virginia’s fiscal future and demanded Gilmore show how he planned to balance the budget, voters turned their attention to Gilmore and granted him the Governor’s mansion in a not-that-close election.<\/p>
Beyer may have been right. Residents of Virginia waited as the vaunted Mixing Bowl &#8211; where I-95 meets I-395 and I-495 came (often) crashing together &#8211; took almost a decade to construct. Now completed the Springfield skyline is littered with the spaghetti of overpasses, merge lanes and green interstate signs. The financial impact was enormous. At an estimated final cost of $676 million the transportation project meant to keep travelers moving on the highways and avoid using the side roads to avoid traffic, may have helped bust the state budget in 2009. The seven-stage project was completed in July of 2007, but with the population continuing to crawl south, the engineers might have underestimated the number of cars using the freeway, which could result in more mixing bowls, and more $600 million construction projects.<\/p>
As the road construction costs have mounted in Virginia the state has been forced to make deeper cuts &#8211; almost 10 percent across the board with the exception of most education funding. The future health of Virginia roads will depend largely on the taxation of commuters and residents enjoying the roads. With repair costs increasing and family incomes dropping; potholes, cracks and bumpy 30-miles commuted to the office might be bad enough to draw the attention of commuters, politicians and Quaker State alike.<\/p>
<a href="http:\/\/www.forbes.com\/2006\/12\/19\/worst-commutes-america-biz-cx_ee_1219worstcommutes.html">http:\/\/www.forbes.com\/2006\/12\/19\/worst-commutes-america-biz-cx_ee_1219worstcommutes.html<\/a><\/p>
<a href="http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Springfield_Interchange">Springfield Interchange #42BA60<\/a><\/p>
<a href="http:\/\/www.cnn.com\/ALLPOLITICS\/1997\/10\/31\/gov.va\/">AllPolitics &#8211; Car Tax Op#42BA4C<\/a><\/p>

Virginia Potholes

Chicagoans like to gripe and complain about winter weather and its close companion, <a href="http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=UJYeZ6lfydU">potholes<\/a>. But being hardy Midwesterners, we are able to take the bad with the good. We always find the upside.<\/p>
Two consecutive seasons, 2007-2008 and 2008-2009, broke a decades-long string of relatively mild winters, with cumulative snowfalls at levels not seen since the early 1980s. Snow accumulations for both years were about 20 inches above average – about 55 inches versus 30-35 inches in “normal year” – a seasonal factor that initially grabs most public attention. Snow fouls up commutes, causes backaches, slip-fall accidents and myocardial infarctions (heart attacks). Sometimes the grim reaper carries a snow shovel.<\/p>
But it’s the potholes that linger, long after the last snowflake melts.<\/p>
These street craters actually result less from snow and more from temperature fluctuations. The net results of potholes, however, are nothing but a downward spiral for municipal and personal finances. Potholes are expensive for everyone – the city, county, state and federal government each shell out millions for repairs, while individual car owners pay the price in flat tires, damaged rims, wheels, alignment, broken axles and cracked catalytic converters. Mechanics interviewed by local television news reporters express regret that they’e so busy with repairs in winter, and no one believes them.<\/p>
Still, we focus on the positive. After two years of exceptionally rough riding conditions, Chicagoans are learning to navigate like stunt drivers. Further good news: no one complains when a street is being resurfaced or altogether reconstructed. A few weeks of inconvenience, dust and smelly asphalt trucks results in a silky-smooth road, a pure joy to traverse. And the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) informs us that Chicago doesn’t even rank in the top twenty worst cities for “rough road” conditions. Who knew? To top it off, the winter of 2008-2009 included pure political theater, a public dialog between Mayor Richard M. Daley and KFC, the fast fried chicken restaurant company. The chicken chain offered to fund our pothole repairs as part of a marketing campaign.<\/p>
It doesn’t help that certain high profile people in Chicago have had their own encounters with potholes, enough to damage their vehicles – and report them on the evening news. ABC affiliate WLS-TV’s own investigative reporter, Chuck Goudie found a “super hole” while driving on the heavily traveled Congress Parkway ramp leading to Wacker Drive. The station tracked it for two weeks, waiting for city repair crews and reporting on the many vehicles that sustained damage in that time period.<\/p>
<blockquote>Yes, the pothole situation in Chicago can actually be entertaining. Just be careful about how you describe that to the guy who needed $2700 in repairs to his Lexus due to a nasty crevice on Lake Shore Drive.<\/p><\/blockquote>
In December 2009, suburban Palatine’s Director of Public Works Andy Radetski twice hit a pothole on I-55 near Bolingbrook. The same pothole,<\/em> two days in a row<\/em>. Not surprising, the issue was prioritized by his own city’s department, he says.<\/p>
Yes, the pothole situation in Chicago can actually be entertaining. Just be careful about how you describe that to the guy who needed $2700 in repairs to his Lexus due to a nasty crevice on Lake Shore Drive.<\/p>
Money fills [some of] the holes <\/strong><\/p>
As is easily imagined, potholes cost money – to municipalities and<\/em> individuals. Seeing as how most individuals are taxpayers, that means most of us pay twice. Chicago Tribune<\/em> reporter Jon Hilkevitch is among several journalists who track the devolution of streets for the paper and its readers. He reports some key statistics on the costs of potholes and street maintenance overall:<\/p>
<ul type="disc">
<li>Chicago has millions of potholes, according to Chicago Transportation Commissioner Tom Byrne<\/li>
<li>Between 6,000 and 8,000 holes are repaired daily in the winter and spring<\/li>
<li>The city’s annual budget for pothole repair is $12 million<\/li>
<li>Longer-term repairs include street resurfacing and street reconstruction. For four-lane arterial streets, it costs $1.3 million per mile resurfaced and $8.4 million to reconstruct the same distance.<\/li>
<li>Resurfaced roads are expected to last ten years; reconstructed roads are good for 20 years before repairs are necessary. This assumes normal wear and tear conditions.<\/li>
<li>The State of Illinois provides $42 million to Chicago for resurfacing.<\/li>
<li>The federal government is providing Chicago with $150 million in highway repair funds, plus an additional $86 million in federal economic stimulus funding.<\/li>
<\/ul>
Doing the math for you, a million potholes fixed at a rate of 8,000 per day means it would take 125 days to fix them all, which, accounting for weekends means about 21 weeks for full repair. That assumes no new potholes, which is, of course, deluded. Commissioner Byrne said millions<\/span><\/strong>, so the 21 weeks is a fantasy. On the money side, paying for longer-term fixes with federal and state funds, $278 million combined, we could get 213 miles of road resurfacing or 33 miles of road reconstruction. Chicago has about 3,800 miles of roads, every inch of which experience the freeze-thaw conditions of winter. It brings to mind Titian’s painting of <a href="http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sisyphus">Sisyphus<\/a>.<\/p>
This is not a good time for increased spending. The city’s overall budget deficit might grow $250-$350 million by the end of 2009, according to the city of Chicago official <a href="http:\/\/www.cityofchicago.org\/city\/webportal\/portalContentItemAction.do?contenTypeName=COC_EDITORIAL&topChannelName=HomePage&contentOID=537043436">website<\/a>. Some expenses are discretionary, but the flow of people and commerce impeded by adverse weather conditions is not much of an option.<\/p>
To the rescue, sort of, came Chicken Man. More specifically, KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken). The Louisville, Kentucky-based company launched a contest in March to fill potholes in four cities plus its hometown in exchange for publicity and branding on some of the filled holes. Mayor Daley – whose own Lincoln Town Car got a flat tire this winter from a giant pothole on Pulaski Road – reacted by negotiating publicly. City Hall reporter Fran Spielman quotes him saying, “If they give us $25 million or $30 million, we’d be glad to look at it. I want the money up front. I’ll take $50 million if you give me $50 million.” When later informed that KFC logos would be painted on top on the street repairs themselves, Daley upped the ante. “It all depends if they’re ready to give 50, 60, 70, 80 million. There’s a lot of potholes out there.”<\/p>
Chicago residents don’t mind seeing hizzoner (his honor, the mayor) play hardball. The city’s sell-off of the parking meters to a private company, and camera-caught red-light-runner ticketing, are already making a big dent into residents’ finances.<\/p>
Alas, KFC’s public relations firm representative tells us the company selected Warren (Ohio), Topeka (Kansas), Chattanooga (Tennessee) and hometown Louisville to receive $3000 grants for pothole repairs. No strings were officially attached to the funding, however stencils and spray chalk of the KFC logo were provided to municipalities to use at their discretion. When asked about the differential between $3000 and Mayor Daley’s interest in $80 million, the KFC rep, himself based in Chicago, obliged by saying, “Hey, this is Chicago. Go big.” The company says it may reprise the program next winter due to a strong response from mayors, municipalities and the media.<\/p>
Pay through your own nose<\/strong><\/p>
The transparency of municipal budgets shows us one side of the costs. But the costs to individuals whose cars are impaired from moonscape maneuvers are as elusive as they are maddening. AASHTO’s “Rough Roads Ahead” reports that additional vehicle operating costs (repairs) in Chicago due to rough conditions are $333 per year. This compares to $638 in New York and $746 in Los Angeles. So it could be worse. (Why so high in LA? Warm weather places like this city, Honolulu, Sacramento and San Diego all have rough roads and high car repair costs, largely attributed to poor maintenance funding.)<\/p>
Where do those costs come from? Consider the following repairs for a 2005 Toyota Camry:<\/p>
<ul type="disc">
<li>Wheel alignment $85-$109<\/li>
<li>Catalytic converter replacement $641-$1154<\/li>
<li>Tire replacement: $61-$77 per tire<\/li>
<li>Wheel\/rim repair\/replacement: $82-$157 per wheel<\/li>
<\/ul>
Perhaps the reader can beat the average by learning where his or her catalytic converter is located. With that knowledge combined with quick reflexes, the driver might avoid hitting that expensive part of the car. Or, maybe Chicago’s lower cost average for repairs indicates that we’ve largely mastered such skills.<\/p>
2010 and beyond<\/strong><\/p>
So, do the winters of 2007-2009 predict anything about potholes in the future? Climate change predictions are all over the map – some places will get warmer, others cooler, some wetter and other drier. It bears repeating that weather and temperatures have less to do with actual road conditions than municipalities’ allocation to road building and repair.<\/p>
Which boils it down to budgets and political will. Both of these are affected by public opinion and activism. Demands for better road repair and general maintenance need to trump other priorities, which renders it an open question.<\/p>
But as everyone knows, politics in Chicago never ceases to be entertaining. Pass the chicken, Mr. Mayor?<\/p>

Cities & Communities

Pothole Plotters

Virginia Potholes

Chicago Potholes 2009: An aftermath of damage, money and fried chicken