Potholes galore!

Our winter has been marked with lots of snow and now that the white stuff is receding, we’re invaded with a myriad of… potholes. 

These wonderful, hollow creations that we see on roadways and parking lots are created when the top layer of pavement and the material beneath bend under the weight of vehicular traffic, due to the amount of traffic and the presence of water below.

Snowmelt or rain seeps through cracks in the pavement and into the substrate. Short of draining away quickly, the ground underneath becomes saturated and soft. That trapped moisture is subjected to repeated freeze/thaw cycles and with each occurrence, the expanding ice lifts and cracks the pavement more. The passing traffic weakens the pavement, cracking it further. 

This is also exacerbated by multiple passages of heavy and abrasive snow-removal trucks and abundant sprays of salt (remember that here in Utah, we have a Great Salt Lake nearby, with plenty of cheap supply!). As the process repeats itself from November through April and temperatures keep on fluctuating, the ice freezes and melts continuously, a void is left under the pavement. 

This void collects more water and after enough of that treatment it has no other way but growing larger and deeper. This whole winter has been a constant battle between my car and an army of potholes. I’m now looking for a cease-fire!