Watch Out! It’s Pothole Season in the Hudson Valley
It's almost here. We are so close to Spring in the Hudson Valley I can feel it in my bones. Also, it's officially on the calendar as March 21st.
But currently, we're stuck in that "Fake Spring #2" purgatory. We'll get to enjoy weather with temperatures in the high 60's then, boom...a random snowstorm.
With all of that being said, with the warmer weather also comes: Pothole season.
According to the New York State Department of Transportation, "Sun, rain, sleet, snow and ice are the forces of nature that can turn our increasingly crowded roadways from smooth to rough and tumble."
The DOT explains the anatomy of a pothole as follows:
Potholes erupt whenever water slips through cracks in pavement that is fatigued from many factors, including heavy traffic. When the temperature drops, that water freezes and expands, deepening and widening the cracks and creating bulges and sinking sections of pavement. Sunlight and seasonal warmth generate ranges in temperature that perpetuate and accelerate a freeze/thaw cycle, particularly as road surface fragments are washed away.
The DOT is out and about throughout the Hudson Valley and New York State working on troublesome potholes.
For instance, Kingston DOT crews are out using "mastic-a liquified asphalt with a fine aggregate." The DOT took to Twitter to share the process:
To reiterate the Department of Transportation, be on the look out for these crews the next few weeks and slow down on the roads.
Have a terrible pothole in your neighborhood? Report it. Call 1-800-POTHOLE (1.800.768.4653).