'Tis the season

        No. It's not Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year's. It is  Springtime in Maine and pothole season has arrived in all it's ugly glory.

      It's dark  in the early morning before 6:00 AM now, at least for a few more weeks.
Daylight saving time has just kicked in.. But I hear the birds singing and smell the freshness of the spring air. Then I hear a loud “kurplunk” and swearing as a passing car bottoms out on a rather large pothole. Dare I venture out to the store?

   The ride to the local Wal Mart, although only a short one, has become a real challenge. Route 100 has turned into an obstacle course when attempting to avoid hitting the many, many potholes. It is interesting how they place themselves in the most inconvenient locations. But then if they didn't, they wouldn't  be potholes would they!

   By definition, “a pothole is a 'disruption' in the surface of the roadway where a portion of the surface has broken away. Disruption! I love that word. Potholes are the result of fatigue in the road surface. Fatigue? How about...just plain 'busted up'. Now doesn't that make you feel better knowing that? 

   Looking for future pothole sites? You only need to look for the alligator cracking on the surface. Hmm. Looks a bit like the skin on my arms!

  The formation of a pothole is generally exacerbated by low temperatures, where water freezes and refreezes beneath the road surface, creating additional stress on the already cracking surface. That explains it. Makes me feel a whole lot better not that I know the cause.

  Potholes can grow to be enormous in size, from several inches to more than a foot in diameter and up to 6, 8 or even 12 inches deep, deep enough to swallow up a small car.

  We can joke about potholes, but they are serious. They can cause serious damage to a vehicle's suspension system or destroy a tire. Case in point. I ended up buying a new tire recently. Was I going too fast? Under normal circumstances, probably not. But given the road conditions? Maybe. Could I have swerved out of the way? Only if I wanted to be hit by a rather large truck in the oncoming lane.

  The interstate highway this year is not much better. For the first time in years, Interstate 95 is riddles with potholes and a washboard effect. At least on the interstate there is a bit more room to maneuver around the the potholes because of nice wide shoulders. Thump! Oops. Didn't see that one coming.

  I recently spoke with a local law enforcement official. I asked him if he would like to comment on the road conditions this year. After about two minutes of almost uncontrollable laughter, he said that this year was one of the worst he has seen and he thought last year was bad.  He was quick to add that people are still driving to fast for the conditions. He had already started his collection of hubcaps for the year. Anyone need a hubcap from a Oldsmobile? What's an Oldsmobile?

  Fixing potholes is also a challenge. Shovels and a truckload of cold patch are the tools of the trade but the repair generally only lasts until the next rain or snow storm. Did I actually see someone shoveling cold patch out of a pothole and putting it into buckets in the back of a pickup? Must be a problem in the driveway at home.

  In all seriousness, the pothole problem is an issue. According to the officer, this year is like the “perfect storm.” Long cold winter, lots of snow recently, plowing and water and little money to repair and fix the roads properly. Tight budgets. While potholes may create some immediate business for the local auto repair dealers and tire shops ( part of the LePage economic growth plan), in the future, repair of roads will only cost more. But by then he will be out of office. TG

  But for now, keep your eyes peeled for that little red Volkswagen that  just drop right out of sight... Boy, that's a deep one!