Profusion of potholes strikes the region
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
This pothole has formed on Oak Grove Road near Grable Road, on the border of Canton and South Strabane townships.
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
A series of potholes on Oak Grove Road near Grable Road, on the border of Canton and South Strabane townships, has drivers steering clear as they drive through the area.
No, it’s not your imagination. There are potholes on the streets and roads.
Plenty of them.
But what makes this annual outbreak of cavernous dents and monstrous hollows unusual is its timing. The up-and-down temperature cycle, with subfreezing days seeming to alternate with outbreaks of unseasonable warmth has led to a pothole epidemic that typically would have arrived weeks from now.
According to Jay Ofsanik, safety press officer for PennDOT, “We’re probably seeing this earlier” than we would otherwise.
Potholes are a seasonal fixture of pretty much every state above the Mason-Dixon Line, and they are caused by water seeping into the ground beneath pavement. When the water freezes, it expands, and the pavement then cracks and breaks. Potholes can be exacerbated when temperatures yo-yo between the springlike and the Siberian.
And while plows and salt are necessary on winter days when snow or ice are sticking to the roads, both can contribute to the creation of potholes. Plows can shear off the top of patches that have been placed in potholes, allowing water to seep into them, and this starts the cycle anew. Road salt also contributes by lowering the freezing point of water, extending the freezing and thawing cycle.
PennDOT handles maintenance and repair of Interstates 70 and 79, along with a host of other roads that snake through the region. The repair of potholes on the interstates is prioritized, given the volume of traffic that travels over them, Ofsanik explained, with secondary, less-traveled roads following. Until asphalt producers kick into gear in the spring, road crews have to rely on temporary cold patch to fill in potholes.
“We try to keep a handle on it,” said Butch Main, the road crew foreman for Canton Township. “We’ve been out continuously.”
He said the township compiles a list of points on its streets that need to be filled. Main also said most of the complaints from Canton residents about potholes are those on state roads that run through the township.
In Waynesburg, Bryan Cumberledge, the borough’s street department manager, said the persistently soggy weather this month is deepening the misery when it comes to potholes. Underground springs that normally are sealed during the rest of the year also begin flowing, making the work harder.
“It’s hard to patch it in rain, because it doesn’t do a good job,” Cumberledge said. “You have to get all the water out of (the pothole). If you don’t, then it will just pop out.
The public works department is now taking advantage of the warmer weather that has prevailed over the last week or so to put cold patch in potholes before more permanent fixes are applied later in the year.
“We’ve had some good weather,” Cumberledge said. “We’re out there now patching.”
All told, potholes cost American drivers about $3 billion in damage every year, according to AAA. The agency is reporting an uptick in roadside assistance calls this year compared to recent pothole “seasons.” Flat tires, bent wheels and damage to suspension systems can result from hitting a pothole too hard.
The odds that a driver would be compensated by PennDOT for any damage their vehicles sustain as a result of a pothole are very small, according to Ofsanik.
“It is an unfortunate thing,” he said.
Regional editor Mike Jones contributed to this report.