5 ms·

Ignoring the safety of the people doing the fixing for a moment, how do we know that these potholes have been fixed in a way that'll last a long time and be saf

Ignoring the safety of the people doing the fixing for a moment, how do we know that these potholes have been fixed in a way that'll last a long time and be safe? If I want to know the method and materials used, where do I go to find that out?

thelastidiot 9y ago
I destroyed my tire on a pothole last year and I had to change the entire wheel. I doubt a "fixed" pothole can be more damaging than an unfixed one.
- ceejayoz 9y ago
  It's possible that an incorrectly fixed pothole would a) degrade far more quickly and b) do so in a manner that expands the pothole more than just leaving it alone would have.
  - throwawayjava 9y ago
    Right. It's not so much about the pothole today, as much as it is the health of the entire road over the next decade+. That said, addressing this and other concerns isn't rocket science. The city could easily publish a detailed guide to filling potholes (what materials are ok, what materials are not, what process to use, etc).
    - donarb 9y ago
      Publishing a guide to filling in potholes seems like it would create controversy with the public, who would ask why it appears the city expects citizens to fill in potholes themselves. It's much easier to just allow citizens to call a number and report a pothole. Seattle does that and potholes get filled fairly quickly, they even have a phone app that allows you to report all kinds of problems. Here's Seattle's pothole map showing where and when they have been fixed. http://web6.seattle.gov/sdot/potholemap/ http://web6.seattle.gov/sdot/potholemap/
      - newfoundglory 9y ago
        > Seattle does that and potholes get filled fairly quickly, We must have different definitions of quickly! Or perhaps different standards for “pothole”.
    - prawn 9y ago
      A guide would create potential legal liability, wouldn't it?
      - greedo 9y ago
        You could publish it in a way that was more "How we repair our potholes." Include the types of materials, the procedure, etc. This would mask it so that you could plausibly deny encouraging citizens to self-repair.
        prawn 9y ago
        That's true. Good thinking. Council crews everywhere could realistically have best-practice blogs detailing all sorts of stuff to encourage residents to aim for a certain standard (verge upkeep, etc) or achieve other targets (water usage and the like).
tclancy 9y ago
I don't know how it's done on the West Coast, but here in New Hampshire they're not usually fixed in a way that will last a long time due to the fact frost heaves will simply bring them back again. Given the nature of the freeze, run plows over them, thaw, possibly refreeze schedule, the city uses cold patches all the time. I am no road engineer, but I'm guessing attempting to truly "fix" winter-generated potholes would simply move them around by 5 or 10 feet.
paulie_a 9y ago
I've seen how potholes are fixed, it's not rocket science, plop some material in, Pat it down with a shovel, let the traffic smooth it out.
- bovermyer 9y ago
  I've seen how websites are fixed, it's not rocket science, plop some PHP in, Pat it down with apache, let the traffic smooth it out.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
thinkingemote 9y ago
I've heard from some ex council workers that they are not doing it correctly. You have to cut around the hole, then fill in this wider hole. Basically the bits around a pot hole are weak, so they have to go also. If you just fill in the hole, then a new one will form very easily around the interface of the new tarmac and the decaying road.
- TACIXAT 9y ago
  I live in Baltimore, they just pile on some asphalt and call it a day. We are left with these massive bumps in the road. I'll take anarchy road over Baltimore City's work any day.
megaman22 9y ago
Have you seen how the government-sanctioned entities fix potholes? It doesn't take rocket science to shovel in a bunch of cold-patch and sand and tamp it down. And that is what they do, unless they are completely repaving the road.
tomohawk 9y ago
They're patching asphalt. By definition, asphalt roads do not last and are not safe. Many local governments grab any able bodied people to shovel semi-hot asphalt into the holes and let the traffic pack it in. This is not the recommended procedure by any standard, but people have gotten used to the incompetence and actually believe that this is proper, just because someone official is doing it.
- chupasaurus 9y ago
  I've seen an asphalt road to a neighbourhood of approx. 300 houses which was the same as new after 30 years without any need of repairment. Was destroyed by dozers to get there a telephone cable. It was exceptionally fun because it's in russian megapolis.

thelastidiot 9y ago

I destroyed my tire on a pothole last year and I had to change the entire wheel. I doubt a "fixed" pothole can be more damaging than an unfixed one.

ceejayoz 9y ago
It's possible that an incorrectly fixed pothole would a) degrade far more quickly and b) do so in a manner that expands the pothole more than just leaving it alone would have.
- throwawayjava 9y ago
  Right. It's not so much about the pothole today, as much as it is the health of the entire road over the next decade+. That said, addressing this and other concerns isn't rocket science. The city could easily publish a detailed guide to filling potholes (what materials are ok, what materials are not, what process to use, etc).
  - donarb 9y ago
    Publishing a guide to filling in potholes seems like it would create controversy with the public, who would ask why it appears the city expects citizens to fill in potholes themselves. It's much easier to just allow citizens to call a number and report a pothole. Seattle does that and potholes get filled fairly quickly, they even have a phone app that allows you to report all kinds of problems. Here's Seattle's pothole map showing where and when they have been fixed. http://web6.seattle.gov/sdot/potholemap/ http://web6.seattle.gov/sdot/potholemap/
    - newfoundglory 9y ago
      > Seattle does that and potholes get filled fairly quickly, We must have different definitions of quickly! Or perhaps different standards for “pothole”.
  - prawn 9y ago
    A guide would create potential legal liability, wouldn't it?
    - greedo 9y ago
      You could publish it in a way that was more "How we repair our potholes." Include the types of materials, the procedure, etc. This would mask it so that you could plausibly deny encouraging citizens to self-repair.
      - prawn 9y ago
        That's true. Good thinking. Council crews everywhere could realistically have best-practice blogs detailing all sorts of stuff to encourage residents to aim for a certain standard (verge upkeep, etc) or achieve other targets (water usage and the like).

tclancy 9y ago

I don't know how it's done on the West Coast, but here in New Hampshire they're not usually fixed in a way that will last a long time due to the fact frost heaves will simply bring them back again. Given the nature of the freeze, run plows over them, thaw, possibly refreeze schedule, the city uses cold patches all the time. I am no road engineer, but I'm guessing attempting to truly "fix" winter-generated potholes would simply move them around by 5 or 10 feet.

paulie_a 9y ago

I've seen how potholes are fixed, it's not rocket science, plop some material in, Pat it down with a shovel, let the traffic smooth it out.

bovermyer 9y ago
I've seen how websites are fixed, it's not rocket science, plop some PHP in, Pat it down with apache, let the traffic smooth it out.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]

thinkingemote 9y ago

I've heard from some ex council workers that they are not doing it correctly. You have to cut around the hole, then fill in this wider hole. Basically the bits around a pot hole are weak, so they have to go also. If you just fill in the hole, then a new one will form very easily around the interface of the new tarmac and the decaying road.

TACIXAT 9y ago
I live in Baltimore, they just pile on some asphalt and call it a day. We are left with these massive bumps in the road. I'll take anarchy road over Baltimore City's work any day.

megaman22 9y ago

Have you seen how the government-sanctioned entities fix potholes? It doesn't take rocket science to shovel in a bunch of cold-patch and sand and tamp it down. And that is what they do, unless they are completely repaving the road.

tomohawk 9y ago

They're patching asphalt. By definition, asphalt roads do not last and are not safe. Many local governments grab any able bodied people to shovel semi-hot asphalt into the holes and let the traffic pack it in. This is not the recommended procedure by any standard, but people have gotten used to the incompetence and actually believe that this is proper, just because someone official is doing it.

chupasaurus 9y ago
I've seen an asphalt road to a neighbourhood of approx. 300 houses which was the same as new after 30 years without any need of repairment. Was destroyed by dozers to get there a telephone cable. It was exceptionally fun because it's in russian megapolis.