Pothole season has arrived, according to the Monroe County Highway Department, as fluctuating temperatures are creating conditions that damage roads each spring.
February, March and sometimes early April are considered peak times for potholes to form because of the weather.
Highway Superintendent Toby Turner explained that potholes form when water seeps into cracks in the pavement and repeatedly freezes and thaws, expanding the cracks until traffic starts breaking pieces of pavement loose.
“We always have a pothole season, which starts in the spring when we start getting a lot of water, and the temperatures go up and down, and we run from 70 degrees back down to 20 degrees,” Turner said. “It's that freeze-thaw period where we start getting those holes.”
The county receives five or six pothole reports each day across the nearly 700 miles of road it maintains. He said crews typically repair reported potholes within 24 hours.
“We attack the potholes as soon as they come out, because usually they get so big, sometimes they start causing damage,” he said.
With asphalt plants not yet open, crews are using a temporary repair material called cold mix, which sometimes has to be applied multiple times.
“We don’t have the perfect material at this time of year to fix those holes,” Turner said. “Hot mix would be the perfect material that’s going to stay there and smooth those holes up and make a permanent repair, but the hot mix plants aren’t open this time of year yet.”
Turner said larger potholes are prioritized to prevent damage to vehicles, while smaller ones may be left until permanent repairs are possible.
“We would like to wait and try to save the county some money and get some hot mix in those smaller areas or some of the edge-of-the-road areas (where) we know that the material we have now is not going to work,” he said.
Turner said county paving projects may also be helping reduce potholes this season. He said last year, the county paved over 50 miles of road.
“We have less than we used to have, because we've been paving a lot of roads over the years,” Turner said. “Road conditions are probably better.”
Residents can report potholes by calling the Monroe County Highway Department or submitting a report online.
