1. WAR ON POTHOLES POTHOLE Larry Schneider
City of Fort Collins Streets Superintendent 1

2. Origin of the Word POTHOLE
The word POTHOLE actually came from the Irish. After boiling potatoes, they would mash the potatoes with the pot on the ground, causing a deep hole to develop. =

3. Pesky Pothole

4. Pothole Politics Los Angeles- Seattle- 6,000 center miles
$671 spent by individual drivers due to pothole related damage
2007 goal: fill 300,000 potholes
Reality: exceeded their goal by filling 307,000
2009 goal: fill 350,000
Seattle-
Mayor Greg Nickels declares a war on potholes, “fix every pothole within 48 hours”
2007: filled 38,215 potholes

5. Pothole Politics Honolulu- 2008: $850,000 on 69,264 potholes
$172,000 in claims
: $70 Million on street maintenance

6. Pothole Politics New Orleans- “Know your potholes”
A handy-dandy pothole guide
Paint a pothole
Dress it up with Mardi Gras beads

7. Pothole Politics Rockford, Il 2008: $1.3 million o127,127 potholes
Testing a new epoxy that crews will treat a pothole with before they dump in the cold patch

8. Pothole Politics Colorado Fort Collins Greeley Loveland
502 center miles
$170,950
5,000 potholes
Greeley
367 center miles
$160,000
40,000 potholes
Loveland
324 center miles
3,000 potholes

9. Pothole Politics Colorado- CDOT: region 4 7,649 lane miles
71,001 square yards patched
$695,566

10. Nicknames Pothole Patrolman Pothole Rangers Pothole Killers
Pothole Posse
Pothole Patrol
Pothole Squad
Pothole Busters

11. Pothole Patching Playbook
What is a pothole?
Why do potholes occur?
How do you patch a pothole?
What are the best materials to use?

12. What is a pothole?

13. What is a pothole?
A pothole is a bowl-shaped hole in the pavement surface
Minimum width of 6”
Low-severity potholes are less than 1” deep
Moderately severe from 1”-2” deep
High-severity greater than 2” deep

14. The formation of a pothole
1.Potholes begin after snow or rain seeps into the soil below the road surface.
2.The moisture freezes when temperatures drop, causing the ground to expand and push the pavement up.
3.As the temperatures rise, the ground returns to normal level but the pavement often remains raised. This creates a gap between the pavement and the ground below it.
4.When vehicles drive over this cavity, the pavement surface cracks and falls into the hollow space leading to the birth of another pothole.
Source: town of Queensbury NY, Highway Department; ohttp://

15. Methods to patch a pothole
Conventional
Throw-and-roll
Spray Patching
Semi-permanent
Cold mix
Permanent
Hot mix

16. Conventional Throw-and-roll Cold mix Hot mix
Requirements: Two person crew, one truck, material and shovels.

17. Conventional

18. Spray Patching Truck-mounted spray patcher Advantages-
Safety- operator doesn’t even have to leave the cab.
Inconvenience to traffic is minimal.
More potholes can be repaired each day.
Patches are longer lasting, cutting maintenance requirements in half.
Repairs can be made in wet weather.

19. Conventional Vs. Spray Patcher
4,959 Potholes Filled
Conventional Vs. Truck Spray Patcher
1, Hours
$104,950
$21.16 per pothole
Hours
$66,063
$13.32 per pothole

20. Spray Patching Single joystick control
All controls accessible from cab
Excellent visibility of work area
1-person operation
Costs less
Effective above 0o

21. Spray Patching Step 1: Blow out the pothole Step 2: Tack it
Step 3: Blow material & emulsion
Step 4: Cap it with rock

22. Semi-permanent Patch Semi-permanent cold mix patch
Debris and water removed
Sides are squared up
With cold mix placed, compacted

23. Permanent Patch Permanent hot mix patch Debris and water removed
Sides are squared up
and tacked
Hot mix is placed and
compacted

24. Ideal Materials for Patching Potholes
Which product is best suited for a particular application?
ODOT Study
Need for cost effective and reliable materials
9 cold mix materials donated for laboratory testing and field evaluation

25. Product Specifications for Testing
Gradation: Less than 5% of material shall pass the Number 200 sieve
Workability: The workability number obtained by AASHTO TP40-94 shall be no less than 4
Coating: Percent coating as determined by AASHTO TP shallbe no less than 90%

26. Product Specifications for Testing
Application: Material shall be placed into a damp hole and remain in place for a minimum of 12 months under normal traffic conditions.
Primer: Product shall not require any primer or other special preparation prior to placement in hole

27. Product Specifications for Testing
Equipment: Product shall not require any special equipment for installation
Compaction: Product shall not require any compaction requirements
Storage: Product shall have a minimum storage life of 1 year

28. Product Specifications for Testing
Workability in adverse conditions: Product shall remain workable in adverse weather conditions (prior to placement)
Durability: Material shall be capable of being used as a permanent fix

29. Materials for Patching Potholes
Product Name
Manufacturer
Binder Type
Bond-X
Seaboard Asphalt Products
Cutback
Elasti-Patch
Koch Materials
HFMS-2SP/HFE-300 (control) *
Albina Asphalt
Emulsion
Instant Road Repair
International Roadway Research
N/A
King Patch
Pacific Asphalt Marketing
Natural Tar Sands
Optimix Cold Patch
Optimix
Perma Patch
National Paving & Contracting
QPR (formerly QPR 2000) **
Quality Pavement Repair
Tag 8000
Infratech Polymer
UPM High-Performance ***
United Paving Materials
* Polypatchi is the little used brand by Albina for this product
** Currently being used by Bend and Lakeview ODOT maintenance crews.
*** Currently being used by Salem and Portland maintenance crews.
Source: Oregon Department of Transportation; 2 year research study

30. Results of Patching Materials
Product
Number of Patches
1 mo. Evaluation
6 mo. Evaluation
12 mo. Evaluation
24 mo. Evaluation
Bond-X 4
Good
Fair
Elasti-Patch 5
HFMS-2SP 14
Instant Road Repair 10
King Patch 1
Poor
Overlaid
Optimix
No report
Perma Patch 8
QPR (formerly QPR 2000) 6
Tag 8000
UPM 7
Source: Oregon Department of Transportation; 2 year research study

31. Quality of Material is the key!
Quality of materials is more important than method or machine
Strategic Highway Research Program
H-106
Most extensive evaluations of pavement maintenance
Better understanding of performance
Cost-effectiveness of various cold mix materials
Effects of deicing materials

32. Tips for Driving Through Potholes
Don’t brake in a pothole
Tires must be properly inflated to reduce the risk of damage
Most damage occurs on exiting the pothole
A longer pothole usually causes more damage

33. Patch these potholes!

34. The quick fix
to patching potholes

35. Highway & Industrial Noise Solutions
CASI
EZ Street
Envirotech
ProPatch
Highway & Industrial Noise Solutions
Perma-Patch