You’ve seen them everywhere. Potholes are on interstates, in your neighborhoods and everywhere in-between since the snow melted away.
But why?
They form when snow-melt or rain seeps through cracks in the pavement. When the moisture goes through the freeze/thaw cycle, the ice expands, then melts away leaving cracks underneath.
How do potholes form
Passing traffic weakens the pavement, cracking it further. And the void collects more water when it rains. So during the next freeze, the void gets even bigger.
Vehicles driving over the weakened pavement pound it until the surface breaks and collapses, creating a pothole.
During the snow week across Middle Tennessee the freeze-thaw happened multiple times on roadways due to low temps and hot cars.
TDOT says because Tennessee gets more flooding than snow, it uses asphalt that gets good drainage. But that means the asphalt allows more of that snow to seep in. And making matters worse: most asphalt plants shut down in winter, forcing TDOT to use what it refers to as a “cold mix” to fill potholes, which is little more than a band aid.