- Times Leader

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It can happen in a split second. A sudden drop, a bone-shaking jolt and an expletive-laden tirade that fires off the tongue.

If the cold wasn’t enough in its own right, frigid weather plays a villainous role in punishing pavement to form potholes. A winter’s worth of seesawing temperatures adds to the wear and tear that sends vehicles throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania limping into service bays.

With temperatures forecast to rise into the low 40s later this week, officials expect conditions to worsen before they get better.

“Age definitely plays a part in it,” said Richard Kresge, director of land planning and utilities at Quad 3 engineering in Wilkes-Barre. “But the biggest problem associated with deteriorating roads is actually the water, and what further compounds it in this area is the freeze/thaw cycles we’ve had.”

Following a week-long battle with sub-zero temperatures, Luzerne County saw a brief thaw last Sunday when the mercury at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport peaked at a sizzling 37 degrees. The next afternoon, temperatures struggled to reach 15 degrees while lows plunged into the single digits overnight into Tuesday — a classic freeze/thaw cycle.

“This can repeat itself dozens if not a hundred times in a winter season,” Kresge said. “Sometimes the area can experience several in just a single day.”

Sinking feeling

For motorists, it’s a sinking feeling, said Kingston resident Sarah Pellegrini.

Pellegrini said she was among several motorists last Sunday who struck a pothole on River Street near the Market Street Bridge in Wilkes-Barre. By the time she pulled over to inspect the damage, five more cars had suffered the same fate, forming a hectic scene of police, tow trucks and hobbled vehicles that the 26-year-old said seemed surreal.

“It felt like something straight out of a movie. One by one the cars began to pull over, all with flat passenger side tires. We were all in disbelief,” she said.

Pellegrini said the damage to her 2008 Chevy Cobalt was $400. It required an alignment, a new rim and a new tire.

“I was very upset and definitely angry,” she said.

Though they spark anger, potholes form innocently enough. They’re a result of the expansion and contraction of ground water – like that leftover from snow and ice – as the moisture seeps into soil beneath the pavement. When it freezes, the area expands and inflates the above pavement.

In addition to aging roads that take a pounding from high traffic volume year after year, precipitation and runoff from rivers, streams and creeks fuels formation, said James May, PennDOT community resource coordinator.

“One thing we have plenty of is water,” May said. “That can get into the soil and really wreak havoc for some roads.”

Snowfall accumulation was nearly 14 inches in February, almost 5 inches above average, according to totals provided by WNEP Chief Meteorologist Tom Clark.

Rising temperatures settle in and melt the ice, leaving a gap between the pavement and soil. Deepening the hole, the process continues as temperatures rise and fall.

Sometimes it doesn’t happen until spring. Other times, a simple spike from below freezing to the mid-30s is enough to do the job.

Geography key

Unfortunately for those looking to place blame, geography has a lot to do with it, said George Roberts, an executive in PennDOT’s district office, which includes Lackawanna, Luzerne, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming counties.

“Up into New York there isn’t as much of a freeze/thaw. It’s more or less just a freeze. It’s that changing of those cycles is what kills us,” Roberts said.

During the winter months, it’s a common occurrence – and an expensive one.

Damage from a pothole can range from the hundreds into the thousands of dollars, said Jordan Davis, an assistant manager at McCarthy Tire in Kingston. Bent rims, separated tire treads and wheel alignments are all minor fixes with damage to the chassis, suspension and steering a stiffer blow to the wallet, he said.

“In most cases a bent wheel can be straightened in house in just a few hours,” Davis said. “Otherwise a factory replacement can range from $210 to several hundred dollars.”

Davis said he’s priced as much as $1,500 for a single vehicle.

Even though damages can leave motorists seeing red, Davis acknowledged it also keeps repair shops seeing green.

“We understand that its an unforeseen accident so we try to keep costs as minimal as possible to customers,” he said.

Municipal and county work crews have been out patching problem areas daily.

Crews have been out several times a week in Wilkes-Barre, installing over 100 tons of cold patch so far this winter. Noting that winter is still capable of flexing its muscle, city spokeswoman Liza Prokop said this season has been comparable to last winter.

Nonetheless, crews have been well stocked and prepared, Prokop said.

“February is a bad month with snow,” she said. “We anticipate this sort of thing.”

Temporary fix

More of a band-aid than an operation, a cold patch acts as a temporary solution until the warmer months when crews can give problem areas their due diligence.

“If a cold patch breaks apart it needs to be done again,” Prokop said, citing fixes in high traffic areas as more susceptible.

Kresge said prevention circles back to the design phase.

When designing roads with abnormally soft soil, crews often need to over-excavate and put in a specialized, more structurally sound material to support the weight.

“Water is going to come from the top down and sometimes it works its way from the bottom up. The roadway system needs to be designed to handle that drainage and get it out from underneath the pavement,” he said.

Potholes on state roads can be reported to PennDOT at 1-800-FIX-ROAD.