Pothole
Water first weakens the underlying soil; traffic then fatigues and breaks the poorly supported asphalt surface in the affected area.
Continued traffic action ejects both asphalt and the underlying soil material to create a hole in the pavement.
Potholes form progressively from fatigue of the road surface which can lead to a precursor failure pattern known as crocodile (or alligator) cracking.
[3] Eventually, chunks of pavement between the fatigue cracks gradually work loose, and may then be plucked or forced out of the surface by continued wheel loads to create a pothole.
[4] In areas subject to freezing and thawing, frost heaving can damage a pavement and create openings for water to enter.
[4] Eaton, et al., advocate a permitting process for utility cuts with specifications that avoid loss of structural continuity of pavements and flaws or failures that allow water penetration.
[4] Some municipalities require contractors to install utility repair tags to identify responsible parties of the deteriorated patches.
Semi-permanent patching uses more care in reconstructing the perimeter of the failed area to blend with the surrounding pavement and usually employs a hot-mix asphalt fill above replacement of appropriate base materials.
[4] The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) offers an overview of best practices which includes several repair techniques; throw-and-roll, semi-permanent, spray injection, and edge seal.
[2] The FHWA suggests the best patching techniques, at times other than winter, are spray injection, throw-and-roll, semi-permanent, or edge seal procedures.
The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in South Africa offers similar methods for the repair of potholes.
The group discovered that material could be heated for a patch to 100 °C (212 °F) in approximately ten minutes which then applied a more effective repair and drove out moisture which improved adhesion.
[19] Elsewhere, activists in Russia used painted caricatures of local officials with their mouths as potholes, to show their anger about the poor state of the roads.
[20] In Manchester, England, a graffiti artist painted images of penises around potholes, which often resulted in them being repaired within 48 hours.
"[23] In the Seinfeld episode The Pothole, George discovers that he has lost his keys, including a commemorative Phil Rizzuto keychain that says "Holy Cow" when activated.
