The BBC website had an article yesterday entitled “Why is snow so bad for potholes?”
Potholes are formed by water penetrating the asphalt surface of a road through cracks caused by traffic. When temperatures plunge, the water freezes, expands and causes the surface to rupture. When the ice melts, it leaves a void below the surface, which caves in under the stress of vehicles and eventually forms a pothole.
“Snow and ice are the worst weather conditions for exacerbating existing road defects, due to the repetition of the freeze-thaw process,” says Geoff French, vice president of the Institute of Civil Engineers.“A small crack has become a large crack, a large crack has become a small pothole and a small pothole very rapidly becomes a large pothole.”
Somebody has reported a dangerous pothole in Poplar Road, Rayleigh via FixMyStreet today – we doubt if this is the only one:
Bellmouth junction Poplar Rd/Eastwood Rd opposite to MayGurney dumping site: Road surface beginning to disintegrate
Dangerous pothole on left hand carriage way about 30m from junction. Expansion joints also beginning to crumble.