It’s pothole season. Scorned by motorists who swerve to avoid them or experience the distinct jolt and thump when a sneaky one seemingly appears, the holey nuisances are popping up on roadways around the region after months of snowy weather.
But Clifton Park, it appears to some, is doing a good job of catching the pavement imposters and filling them in.
I would like to express my appreciation for the town employees that are out fixing potholes in Clifton Park, said David Van Pelt of Ballston Lake, who emailed The Spotlight praising the work done by Clifton Park’s road workers.
Highway Superintendent Rick Kukuk said the town finds potholes two different ways. The first is when residents call the department with tips and street names. The second is by road crews and Kukuk himself driving around and taking note. All the potholes are compiled onto an offender list, separated into north and south, and two crews are dispatched daily to fill them in.
`The road crews are also on patrol and know some streets have more than others, so they look for those, and sometimes they find them before they’re reported,` said Kukuk.
Road crews usually consist of two or three men. Filling potholes this time of year is a little different than during the spring and summer months. Workers use a special `winter mix` or cold patch to fill in the hole, as opposed to during warmer weather when hot asphalt is pored. Workers also hand shovel the mix out of a pick up truck instead of using a roller.
`The hot asphalt is a hot mix that is heated and applied before it cools down. The winter mix has a different supplier where temperature doesn’t matter, it stays sticky,` said Kukuk.
Winter mix costs $95 per ton and the town goes through an average of 4 tons a day for three to six weeks, said Kukuk.
The downside of winter pothole repair is that it’s only a temporary fix. The filler isn’t permanent so depending on the traffic flow, it could last for weeks or even days.
`Workers try to get all the water out of the potholes before they fill it but it gets splashed by cars or when it’s raining potholes right in a traffic pattern we might have to go back every two or four days until we can do regular asphalt in the summer,` said Kukuk.
`They are doing an outstanding job and helping to make sure our roads are safe and our cars are not damaged,` said Van Pelt. `I am happy to see my tax dollars put to good use.`
This winter was particularly tough on the roads, said Kukuk, and in his opinion, much worse than previous years.
`I figure it’s probably because the frost went deeper and it was a much colder winter, so more frost was in the ground,` said Kukuk. `Moisture under the road gets frozen and causes pavement to heave upward, causing uneven pavement that cracks. Once pavement cracks, water gets into it and causes potholes.`
The recent fluctuation between cold and warm temps has also encouraged runoff as the snow melts and refreezes, so the thawing action of cold nights and warm days can make the pothole process worse, said Kukuk.
Starting in mid-April, permanent pothole repairs will begin.
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