Season’s pothole crop seen as typical

Three roads in Benton County damaged

As winter recently delivered drastic temperature changes, nearly 2 feet of snow and record lows, many would expect Arkansas roads to be pockmarked by potholes, but significant dips and dings have been isolated, according to road officials.

Some dub spring the “pothole season” for its fluctuating temperatures that seem to cause cracks in the road to widen. But while Arkansas had big snows and big freezes, a big number of potholes hasn’t cropped up.

Dave Parker, a spokesman for the Arkansas Department of Transportation, said pothole calls have rolled in weeks after two major snowstorms hit the state, but they are not anything out of the ordinary.

“Really for the most part, the answer I’m getting is, you know, we’ve seen an increased number of potholes, which you’d expect, but none of them are calling it a really big problem except for two different areas,” Parker said.

The two areas with the most road damage were Benton County and West Memphis, Parker said. He pointed to Arkansas 279, 112 and 102 in Benton County as roads where sections have “basically fallen apart.” He said the roads will take another one to two weeks to repair.

“All the district have been patching potholes since the roads were cleared because of the winter storms,” Parker said. “We’ve all been dealing with it, it’s just those two

areas seem to jump out more than the others.”

Pothole data can be hard to track because the Transportation Department doesn’t have a list that covers the whole state. But both state and local transportation officials said, anecdotally, potholes aren’t a bigger problem this year than those in the past.

“We haven’t had a lot of calls, it’s just what we’ve seen while we were out,” said John Pettit, assistant project coordinator with the Saline County road department. “So I don’t know that if it’s been any more significant than past winters.”

Requests for roadside assistance were up last month, according to AAA, but there were fewer calls for flat tire repairs. Generally, service calls are down in Arkansas because fewer people are driving during the pandemic, said Nick Chabarria, a spokesman for AAA.

In February, AAA received 571 service calls for flat tires in Arkansas compared with 623 in February last year. The total number of requests for all AAA roadside service in Arkansas was up in February because of the winter storms, with 5,496 calls compared with 4,281 last year.

While potholes are just one of the things that can flatten a tire, it’s hard to attribute the numbers to fewer potholes, Chabarria said.

“You know, it could be a number of things — it’s tough to say,” Chabarria said. “I don’t think we can’t attribute it just less potholes in general.”

Potholes mainly have two causes — water and traffic. Potholes often form when water slips into cracks in and beneath the asphalt.

Freezing water expands, thus widening cracks in and beneath the asphalt. Over time, wear and tear from traffic can deepen cracks or create a pothole.

The snow and freezing conditions in recent weeks helped create some potholes, but the damage wasn’t extensive, state and local officials said.

The lack of extensive damage after the winter storms doesn’t mean that Arkansas’ roads are smooth going. Parker said that with more potential temperature and weather swings, no one is declaring victory over potholes in 2021 yet.

“Generally, you know, a week to 10 days after heavy moisture and frigid temperatures, keep an eye out for the potholes,” Parker said.