NORFOLK, Va. — Did you know that damage from encountering potholes on United States roadways accounts for approximately 3 billion dollars annually according to AAA?
On average, it costs drivers roughly $300 per pothole incident. That's a pretty penny!
The time of the year potholes become most notorious is during the winter months when there are periods of freezing and thawing that occur quite frequently.
We all do our best to avoid them but all it takes is a split second when you aren’t paying attention and boom, there goes your rim or tire.
Let’s take a second to get to know said pothole and see why they seek to turn what otherwise was a good day into a bad one.
It all starts with a crack in the road, water then seeps in and collects underneath, softening the road and where it lies in waiting.
Temperatures, especially during the winter months drop below freezing and that water then freezes and expands forcing the pavement upwards.
Then, traffic moving over the roadways creates extra stress on the now-weakened pavement.
Dry weather then develops, and the water evaporates or dissipates into the ground, leaving behind a cavity or hole underneath the pavement.
The weight of passing cars and trucks forces the compromised road surface to collapse into the hole below.
And alas, the pothole formation is complete. The hole until repaired will only continue to expand as traffic moves over it making it more likely that you strike it on your commute to work or school.
There is a way to combat these though, you can be an exemplary citizen and report these potholes to VDOT or NCDOT so officials can get out there and repair them quickly, saving another driver from encountering one.