Public Works Department

Pothole Policy

Potholes, depressions, and bumps on town roads are created when moisture seeps into the pavement, freezing, expanding, and then thawing. Spring temperatures warm the cold pavement, melting and evaporating any frozen water. This creates air pockets that can eventually cause the pavement to break up. A winter of heavy snow or rain and several freeze-thaw cycles usually portends a banner pothole season.

Heavy rains inevitably generate a new crop of potholes. Potholes are also created when the roadway is stressed by trucks and other heavy equipment which compromise the subsurface's integrity. Once a weak spot develops, every car that travels over it intensifies the problem; eventually a section fails and another pothole materializes.

1. Potholes begin after moisture 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. When temperatures rise, the ground returns to normal level but the pavement remains raised, creating a gap between it 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 formation of a pothole.

Pothole repair is an ongoing operation. As weather permits, Public Works crews undertake the repair of potholes. Unfortunately, the same conditions that favor the development of potholes also make it very difficult to effectively repair them. During late winter and early spring Public Works crews must often return to the same streets several times because potholes continue to form or the repairs fail. Since potholes can develop so quickly, it is not practical for Public Works employees to attempt to continuously monitor all streets for pavement damage. We rely on input from the traveling public to advise us of potholes that require immediate attention and request that you contact us at 262-0622 to report any such road damage.

In the spring it can take maintenance crews a week or more to complete a cycle of repairs so please be patient.