Uncategorized

Freeze-thaw cycles are best known for how they undermine pavement integrity. But when things get really cold, asphalt cracks up in a different way. Recently, winters in much of the US have been warmer and wetter, particularly in the upper Midwest, than in previous years. But slicing a cold knife into these seemingly mild winters on an almost annual basis are the polar vortexes, the deep penetration of Arctic air…

The wild popularity of e-bikes means people are getting out of cars and onto two-wheels. It’s an environmental plus, but safety issues – including potholes – need to be addressed.  There is a new user of asphalt in American cities and towns, and it’s not just electric cars. Even as the 4-wheeled EVs are growing exponentially in popularity and use, the 2-wheel version of electrified travel is making its own…

Spring is pothole season so you are seeing them everywhere. So why are there more potholes on residential and commercial streets than interstate highways? There is a lot of money in potholes, but don’t count that as a good thing. The money goes to people other than the driver who has the unfortunate experience of hitting one with their car. Repair shops will sell or repair more tires ($100-$300), wheel…

Extreme weather creates future potholes. Compounding this is how roads in the South might suffer more because the asphalt formulations are made for heat. The Christmas week arctic blast – bomb cyclone Elliott, as it was called – across the entire midsection and East Coast of the US played havoc on transportation in many ways. Flight cancellations and advisories to stay off the roads were among them. But the deep…

The top ten states, starting with the worst potholed roads, are: Michigan, Indiana, Rhode Island, Washington state, Vermont, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, and New York.

It’s pothole repair season, from coast to coast and road crevasse to street pit. And lest anyone think their city, county, or state is more afflicted than any other, we provide for you a snapshot of what asphalt looks like in the spring of 2022: “This year’s pothole season one of the worst in recent memory,” reports TBNewsWatch.com. Owing to “a hard winter on our roads with the continual freeze-thaw,”…

A heavy body, long travel suspension, and wide sidewall tires hold up best to bumps and dips in the road. Big truck, small sidewalls Where it comes to potholes and pothole-induced damages to vehicles, we generally consider the pothole to be the problem that needs fixing. Ultimately, eliminating potholes will benefit all users of the roads, from the smallest Fiat to the largest 18-wheel semi-truck. But due to the ubiquity…

It’s that time of the year: If the black ice doesn’t get you, the potholes might. And so might the ice bumps. Ice bumps? Well, yes – but to be clear ice bumps or ice mounds should not be confused with black ice, those frozen areas of the roadways that, thanks to a combination of rapid freezing of snow or sleet, are so clear and flat because they lack bubbles…

Asphalt is cheaper to install, and easier to repair, than cement concrete. But both require regular maintenance to ward off deterioration – including potholes. According to the Federal Highway Administration (FWHA), about 94 percent of all surfaces used for transportation – roads, streets, and highways – are paved with asphalt. The characteristics and properties of bitumen-based asphalt, also known as blacktop, are quite different than those of concrete, even if…

Why aren’t there any driveways in pictures of middle class homes from the 1890s? Because they didn’t have cars! The rest is history. Before anyone considers their next blacktop driveway repair project, it might help to consider the history of driveways themselves. As well as the old jokey question, “Why do we drive on parkways and park on driveways?” The answer to that question is simple: language evolves. The invention…

No driveway lasts forever. But just like with human health, the wellbeing of asphalt pavement depends on attentive maintenance: resealing, resurfacing, and ultimately repaving. New homeowners learn a hard lesson, gradually, as the home and its surroundings age and deteriorate. It depends on the components of the house, garage, driveway, and landscaping elements – especially the quality of materials and products – but with time a new roof, new paint,…

The 2021 US infrastructure bill leapt closer to becoming law in August with a strong vote of support from the Senate. So what might it mean for pothole repair? The obvious benefit of the $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework (a working title) is in how much will be dedicated to fixing roads and bridges. While a version of the bill has yet to be voted on in the House, and…

The national ironman triathlon championship race is in Oklahoma this month. But just three months after harsh winter storms, literal potholes must be fixed. When cities host triathlons, marathons, criterions, and other mass outdoor athletic events, it’s a smart draw for those municipalities to welcome visitors. The athletes and their families and friends often spend a weekend – as well as their tourist dollars at hotels, restaurants, and local attractions.…

A bump in the road can be deadly to bikers, motorcyclists, scooter riders, and anyone in 2-wheeled vehicles. The need to fill potholes is greater than ever. The British magazine Cycling Weekly, in a concession to the poor quality of many roads in the UK, offered up an article in 2017 on how to bicycle safely in the presence of potholes. Among several techniques, one suggestion was to “bunnyhop,” a…

Where water flows to is where pavement is most likely to fail. So in areas where water stands still there may well be potholes lurking under the puddles. In the balance of life, there are bridges and there are underpasses. On the former a car will go up and over and the latter it’s down and through. Simple stuff, right? It also explains why, simply, there tend to be potholes…

Where people work may be permanently affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. What does that mean for commuters, the roads they travel – and pothole repairs? In February 2020 the TRIP organization, a surface transportation research non-profit, released a study that found traffic in northern Virginia costs commuting drivers $2,600 per year due to congestion, vehicle maintenance from rough pavement, and crashes. The cumulative costs of these to all drivers in…

Tactile Mobility is building a platform for cars and trucks to monitor road quality. Motorists, fleets, and DOTs to get real-time data on bumps in the road. Where it comes to the future of surface transportation – the ways and means to travel and transport on roads, streets and highways – it’s clear that engineers and technologists are working overtime. So many innovations are afoot: roads with embedded solar panels…

Among the many effects of the coronavirus pandemic response is how urban traffic is down sharply. That makes road repairs easier now – but future use and funding are in doubt.