Drivers' Prayers Answered? Work Underway On A New, More Effective Pothole Repair System
By Kim Glovas
RADNOR, Pa. (CBS) -- It's pothole season! Repeated episodes of rain and snow, combined with fluctuating temperatures, are cracking the pavements and making driving treacherous.
Meanwhile, behind the scenes, work is underway to make potholes less of a danger for motorists -- and less of a cost for jurisdictions that must keep the roads drivable.
Leslie McCarthy, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at Villanova University, says part of the problem this year is the way the potholes were repaired last year, using a cold-patch method she calls "dump and dash."
"There were just so many potholes, it was just completely out of the budget for any transportation agency or local agency to plan for fixing all that, and I think a lot of the fixes were just to get out there and get it done as soon as possible -- maybe not always the exact right solution for the damage that we're seeing," she explains.
McCarthy says the current asphalt mix is designed for winters in which temperatures remain cold over long periods. But with increasing freeze-thaw cycles throughout the winter, she says, a new asphalt mix is needed.
The good news, according to McCarthy, is that the Federal Highway Administration and the National Academy of Sciences are working on a new recipe for pothole repairs.
