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Procedures for Repair of Potholes in Asphalt-Surfaced Pavements

highways.dot.gov

31–40 of 66 posts

Re: Procedures for Repair of Potholes in Asphalt-Surfaced Pavements

#31

In my beautiful hometown of Philadelphia they have a novel way of repairing potholes that I've yet to observe in other cities: 1. Do nothing for 9 months. This allows the pothole to mature until ready for step 2. 2. Put a traffic cone in the pothole. 3. After a couple weeks of public notice (traffic cone) dump hot asphalt into the hole, making sure to top off several inches above street level. 4. DO NOT WAIT for asph…

Philadelphia is blessed by several feet of sub-street layers (stone fill, belgian block, concrete backfill, and terrible asphalt), embedded rail, pipes, and utilities that are all owned and managed by different local, state, and private entities. Oh and fairly wide temperature swings throughout the year, generous precipitation, salt, and let's not forget the drivers themselves. It's a miracle the roads are in as good a shape as they are - but it does have a traffic calming effect :)

Re: Procedures for Repair of Potholes in Asphalt-Surfaced Pavements

#32

Does anyone know what is a post oil industry asphalt strategy? Do we have stockpiles till the end of time already?

Does anyone expect there will be a post oil industry? I would assume (with not particular knowledge on the subject mind) that once we wind down oil use for fuel and to some extent plastics, there will be enough oil in the ground to support enough extraction for asphalt and other currently trivial uses indefinitely.

Re: Procedures for Repair of Potholes in Asphalt-Surfaced Pavements

#33

I think they should have included the official NYC procedure, which is: 1. Dig out around the affected area 2. leave massive dent in the surface for what seems like years 3. Maybe cover it with a few janky bits of wood and/or metal sheets that make a hideous clanking noise all day and night and have the same approximate surface friction as an ice rink so are pretty murderous to any 2-wheeled road user 4. Leave this s…

Whoa, fancy. All we get are open pits with a few barricades around them until the news finally starts talking about the tree growing in the middle of the road.

Luxury! We used to dream of open pits. All we ever had were craters filled with broken glass and burning petrol. And surrounded by rabid alligators.

Re: Procedures for Repair of Potholes in Asphalt-Surfaced Pavements

#34

You haven't lived until you've paid municipal taxes to see one of these things at work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVFFsKArEFk I've literally watched them approach a pothole full of water, blow the water out with compressed air, retract the blower while the pothole refills, excrete asphalt mix into the watery hole then pat it down and compress it with a roller -- then proceed to the next pothole, driving over an…

Even in the video it looks like it does a terrible job. Hilariously he drives past all the other potholes that was just shown at the beginning of the video.

Re: Procedures for Repair of Potholes in Asphalt-Surfaced Pavements

#37
post #20

I think they should have included the official NYC procedure, which is: 1. Dig out around the affected area 2. leave massive dent in the surface for what seems like years 3. Maybe cover it with a few janky bits of wood and/or metal sheets that make a hideous clanking noise all day and night and have the same approximate surface friction as an ice rink so are pretty murderous to any 2-wheeled road user 4. Leave this s…

My understanding is the DOT gets pissy if locals fill in the pothole themselves, but I imagine that there's enough interested people to do vigilante road repair if they weren't subject to government harrassment.

My understanding is the DOT gets pissy if locals fill in the pothole themselves

People in Chicago sometimes do this.

It's common enough that WGN Morning News parodied it by having its sports anchor go out and start filling potholes with giardiniera.

https://wgntv.com/video/pat-fills-potholes-with-giardiniera/...

Re: Procedures for Repair of Potholes in Asphalt-Surfaced Pavements

#38

I think they should have included the official NYC procedure, which is: 1. Dig out around the affected area 2. leave massive dent in the surface for what seems like years 3. Maybe cover it with a few janky bits of wood and/or metal sheets that make a hideous clanking noise all day and night and have the same approximate surface friction as an ice rink so are pretty murderous to any 2-wheeled road user 4. Leave this s…

I like Atlanta’s solution even better: after becoming egregious enough sloppily bolt down a much too tall metal plate over the pothole and those that have proliferated nearby. Cross fingers and hope they won’t coalesce as a sink hole and as with everything else: “Go Dawgs”

Re: Procedures for Repair of Potholes in Asphalt-Surfaced Pavements

#39

I think they should have included the official NYC procedure, which is: 1. Dig out around the affected area 2. leave massive dent in the surface for what seems like years 3. Maybe cover it with a few janky bits of wood and/or metal sheets that make a hideous clanking noise all day and night and have the same approximate surface friction as an ice rink so are pretty murderous to any 2-wheeled road user 4. Leave this s…

nobody leaves a dent in the surface on purpose, the problem is that whatever caused the pothole is almost certainly still causing it to sink under the surface. A patch doesn't fix the problem, it just makes it less bad.

The local obscenely named utility company dug in our road a few years ago, necessitating a large patch. They proceeded to drive through their patch as they left. The tire dents & ridges are still there years later. You're right, of course, but I think you may be overestimating the concern patch crews give to their craft.

Re: Procedures for Repair of Potholes in Asphalt-Surfaced Pavements

#40
Montreal has joined the chat...

There is a great documentary on the Quebec situation around potholes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOOgJID6sac

In short: politicians would rather direct funds to build new roads (and get votes) than to fix existing roads (and lose votes).

It is that simple.

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