Now that we?ve finally made it through the Valentine?s Day storm and things have returned ? somewhat ? to normal, there is another event that we can look forward to: Potholes and their repair.
The freezing and thawing of the roads causes them to open up (it?s actually the water getting into the cracks of the road and then freezing that causes this to happen). These sometimes gaping holes have been a source of frustration since the first roads were built.
Road crews spend a great deal of time and energy trying to patch potholes and to do it quickly. Some of them use something called a cold patch, which is essentially dumping some hot asphalt into the hole and letting the cars and trucks that follow tamp it down. This is usually not a permanent solution but is one that allows the crews to get out of the lane quicker.
The other solution is to treat a pothole like a dentist would a tooth with a cavity. First they clean out the hole, then they put in a type of sealer, and then they put in a more fluid product that takes a little while to set.
This works more permanently but requires a lane to be blocked for a longer period of time.
I know that there are several sites where you can go to file alerts about the most offensive potholes, sothere are plenty of places to get the information and to file a complaint. Television stations love to run lists and pictures of major potholes on the air and on their Web sites. It?s likely, given the weather we had, that potholes will be popping up like mushrooms, and that means that the crews whose job it is to patch them will be very busy for some time to come.
Hybrid, dollie questions
John writes: “Tuesday I had a conversation with a woman who owns a gas station near Arbutus. Her son is the mechanic. She told me that when a hybrid conks out that the wheels don?t move and the car must be put on a truck or dolly to be moved. She said that tow truck operators are having to buy the dollies to do their jobs. Is that true?”
Questions, comments, random musings? Write to [email protected].
