MARCH 11, 2010 ISSUE
And Now… Potholes
As the snow melts, Public Works crews around the High Country are encountering an outbreak of potholes on local roads—some that need to be repaired two or three times in one day. Repair crews are working diligently, though, and are relying on residents to call respective Public Works departments to report the asphalt obstacles. Photo by Peter Morris 
Photo by Peter MorrisSay goodbye to your vehicle’s wheel alignment, it’s pothole season.
No, you can’t escape. Just try traveling unscathed down any local thoroughfare this week and you’ll find you and your vehicle bumping and thumping along, as if cobblestone streets were still the norm. After a winter such as this, it’s no wonder the prevalence of potholes is at an all-time high.
At Boone Public Works, the label of “potholes” is too pedestrian—Director Blake Brown and his staff refer to the asphalt obstacles as “sub-base failures,” and “we’ve got a lot of them around town,” Brown added.
“We’ve patched some potholes two to three times per day on Highway 321 in Boone,” lamented Kevin Whittington, Watauga County maintenance engineer for the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), whose district also includes Avery County. “Two to three times in one day,” Whittington emphasized.
“We’ve patched one pothole on Sunset Drive twice already; one on Laurel Lane has been patched three times already,” said Blowing Rock Public Works Director Mike Wilcox.
What Causes Potholes?
Brown explained that potholes begin with a crack in the pavement. When water seeps into the cracks and starts freezing, the pavement starts popping and the sub-base layer of asphalt starts eroding as it is exposed to more and more vehicle traffic, creating potholes. “It starts as a small problem and then it grows into a larger problem,” said Brown, akin to picking at a scab on your arm, he added.
“We’ve had all this cold, but then it warms up just enough to make the cracks in the street bigger,” explained Whittington. “Then moisture gets under [the cracks] and makes potholes and then they get even bigger. Blame it on the repeated freeze and thaw.”
The repeated use of snowplows actually doesn’t lead to potholes, said Brown, and neither does salt—somewhat. “It doesn’t cause them, but salt doesn’t help potholes [get better] a whole lot,” Brown admitted.
Pothole Repair Begins in Avery and Watauga Counties
Brown said crews from Boone Public Works have been out fixing potholes “every day and moment we have free that it’s not snowing.” And, according to Brown, because no town ordinance exists barring residents from joining in the pothole-fixing fun, locals can also try their hand at repairing the asphalt obstacles—although Brown would prefer residents call Public Works and have them come out to do the work.
“There is no ordinance against [residents fixing potholes on town roads], but we’d prefer you call us. If you call and report one, we’ll get to it in the next day or so,” assured Brown.
Whittington said that on average during the past week, three NCDOT crews have been repairing potholes around the county each day. Whittington recommends calling NCDOT to fix potholes on county roads as opposed to residents conducting the work “because on a state-maintained road you may be causing a hazard more than you are correcting one,” he said.
“We will respond to calls as quick as we can in priority order—primary roads first, secondary roads second—and we will repair the potholes within 48 hours if the weather cooperates,” said Whittington.
In Banner Elk, Public Works Director Bart Farmer said he has to wait for warmer weather before his crews will begin repairing potholes.
“We haven’t been out there yet—it’ll be spring before we get to it,” said Farmer.
“We’re still waiting to get some more snow off the roads before we can get to [fixing potholes],” said Riley Hatch, Beech Mountain Public Works director. Once the snow is removed, Hatch said reported potholes will be fixed within one week.
Sugar Mountain may have been saved from the outbreak of potholes, according to Sugar Mountain Public Works Director Bill Daniels, because all town roads were re-paved in the last two years. “We’re some of the lucky ones,” said Daniels, who added that no one has called to report the asphalt obstacles yet.
See this story’s sidebar for information on repairing potholes in High Country municipalities.
Fixing Potholes
Local Public Works departments and NCDOT employ two methods to fix potholes—using Cold Patch, considered a temporary fix even though it has proven to last up to seven years; and using a combination of asphalt and an asphalt binder, considered a more permanent fix, which will be available once the local asphalt plant opens for the season.
Farmer said the method used depends on the size and location of a pothole.
Cold Patch, or cold asphalt, can be purchased at most local hardware stores, such as Lowe’s Home Improvement, where it costs $10 for a 10-pound bucket or $14 for a 50-pound bag. Southern States-Boone Service does not carry Cold Patch.
According to Brown, Cold Patch is similar to asphalt, but it also includes a polymer that improves its elasticity, which is crucial with constantly changing surface temperatures. Cold Patch can be used on all sizes of potholes and may be employed when an entire road resurfacing is out of the question or not needed.
Because the Maymead Asphalt Plant—the closest asphalt distributor to Boone—does not open until late-March or early-April, NCDOT and many local municipalities use Cold Patch throughout the winter to do repairs.
“Typically, it’s hard to find hot asphalt during the winter months,” said Whittington. “Cold Patch typically lasts well, but this year not as much.”
Because Cold Patch is failing on some potholes, NCDOT traveled off the mountain recently to purchase hot asphalt and binder, which crews are using to quell some of the recurring potholes in both counties.
Asphalt binder is a more coarse type of asphalt with larger rocks that provides better strength than regular asphalt. While some municipalities fill potholes with gravel and then re-asphalt the top layer, Public Works prefers to use binder to repair the sub-base layer and then re-asphalt the top layer.
“With potholes, we widen out the hole to between six and 12 inches, go in and put binder and then re-asphalt. Some [municipalities] put gravel, but we use binder because it heals the base layer,” explained Brown. “Some [municipalities] use binder all the way to the top.”
For residents wishing to do the repair work themselves, Brown and Whittington said asphalt binder and asphalt can be purchased at Maymead Asphalt Plant, located at 3684 Highway 105 South in Boone, when it opens for the season in late-March or early-April. For purchasing information, call the plant at 828-963-4755.
“If [residents] want to fix [potholes] themselves, then make sure to clean out the [potholes] well before you add Cold Patch or binder. You want to get all the moisture out of the hole or [Cold Patch or the binder] won’t stay in and do its job,” Brown said.
Both Public Works and NCDOT are optimistic about getting a handle on the local pothole situation, but they ask for residents’ patience, especially because budget cuts have affected staff levels of each entity.
“With already limited manpower from the budget situation, which we know is affecting everyone, we won’t be able to hire as many temp workers to do the work,” said Dean Ledbetter, traffic engineer for the NCDOT 11th Highway Division. “Manpower will be a real issue this season.”
“We ask that residents be patient with us,” said Whittington. “We’re working diligently and doing the best we possibly can.”
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