pothole

[MRM]

In my city we have potholes big enough to house a homeless family of four. We have PSAs warning people to drive slowly over the potholes so we don't upset the occupants too much.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

A few years ago I bought 10 bags of asphalt patch and fixed potholes in front of the shop. Worth every cent of the $200 and one day I spent doing it. Pro tip: sprinkle concrete dust on top for it to cure properly and become rock hard.

[GH85Carrera]

Every city and state fight potholes. Some better than others. In 2013 I was in Michigan and enjoying the scenic area around the lake, and we had to stop for the MDOT truck as the "patched" a pothole. It was stunning to see in person. A pothole full of mud and some water had a couple shovel-fulls of asphalt tossed into it from the two guys in the back of the truck. So 10 feet in the air, toss in asphalt and drive off. They did not compact it at all. The asphalt of course was just tossed at the pothole, and only a little went in. Traffic was supposed to compact it down. My 911 was the lucky first car through, and I tried hard to dodge as much of it as possible.

Around here there are several pothole patrol trucks. With 640 miles of Oklahoma City to cover that have job security. The do get out, clean the hole of debris, pour in some tar, a layer of asphalt and use a hand compactor to flatten it.

I would say Arkansas and Vermont have some of the best roads of the 45 states I have driven in.

[Mike Andrew]

Here in IL, that's just a slight depression. Having spent all of the $.19/gallon gas tax collected for road repair, etc on other stuff for many years, there is no $ for road repairs.
When I take the SC out, I have to plot out the least trashed route to get where I am going and back home. Trying to get reimbursed for wheel damage is a nightmare and Fuchs replacement costs are way high.

[1990C4S]

Originally Posted by KC911

So why are they called potholes anyways?

The term was originally used (as cited in 1826) to describe deep, cylindrical-shaped holes in glaciers and gravel beds. (Source) So, it was an easy segue into calling these holes that form on our roads, which have a similar shape, the same thing.

[RWebb]

https://www.summitengineer.net/faqs/How-do-potholes-form.html#:~:text=Potholes%20are%20holes%20in%20th e,When%20water%20freezes%2C%20it%20expands.&text=Water%20will%20freeze%20at%2032%20degrees%20F ahrenheit.

[yellowperil]

Yes it's a blatant ad for PEI potatoes. It's shameful, I know.

[dheinz]

The potholes around here are stocked with trout...