- #1
Loren Booda
- 3,125
- 4
Asphalt potholes seem to have a self-fufillment to maximize their size. They tend to start in the most trafficked areas of a road so that avoiding them risks crossing the double yellow line into oncoming cars, or ramming the curb. Striking one increases its width, breadth and depth. Treacherous weather increases both the danger of driving and the frequency of "pavement fatigue."
Some say that one should take a pothole head-on; others aver that attempting to circumvent them causes less damage. To patch a pothole attempts a temporary fix to its natural tendency toward undermining an unnatural structure.
Do these road divots have physical analogs? What new can be done about these chaotic yet clever chuckholes, that seem to have a life of their own? I picture a drill that removes to a sufficient depth a circle of pavement encompassing the pothole, and replacing this detritus with appropriate layers of road material.
Some say that one should take a pothole head-on; others aver that attempting to circumvent them causes less damage. To patch a pothole attempts a temporary fix to its natural tendency toward undermining an unnatural structure.
Do these road divots have physical analogs? What new can be done about these chaotic yet clever chuckholes, that seem to have a life of their own? I picture a drill that removes to a sufficient depth a circle of pavement encompassing the pothole, and replacing this detritus with appropriate layers of road material.