The New-Style Obstacle course, formed by...

[knightfan26917]

...potholes.

Yes, potholes ... those unsightly, menacing, treacherous holes in the roadway that absolutely love to feast on tires and suspension systems.

I don't know about YOUR area, but in Chicagoland ... potholes seem to have overtaken the area roadways. On one road I frequent to and from work, one 3-4 mile stretch has been claimed by AT LEAST ONE MAJOR pothole every few FEET. And, each time one is repaired ... another one is proud to take its place. Heh ... as frustrating (and dangerous) as they are, it has become somewhat commonplace humorous to watch drivers find new ways to "outsmart" the potholes.

In all my years of driving (admittedly, not that many, relatively-speaking), I do not ever remember a "pothole season" THIS bad. Course, I don't ever remember quite a winter when the major weather trend has been an up'n'down roller coaster ride of 40s one day with rain and teens and snow in less than 12 hours.

So ... does your area face major pothole invasions?

Cort:34swm."Mr Monte Carlo.Mr Road Trip".pig valve&pacemaker

WRMNshowcase.legos.HO.models.MCs.RTs.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort

"How should I feel when it comes to you?" ... Social Burn ... 'Down'

[Intrepidation]

There are potholes EVERYWHERE. Everyday it's a game of dodging them...and I hate this game.

[ocnblu]

4 realz, yo. Makes me think of that Mazda RX-7 video, losing its wheels. Plus, PA is known far and wide as a state with horrible roads, due in part to our geography (bedrock close to the surface, lots of underground springs), it's very hard to keep the roads in good shape even in good weather, let alone the freeze/thaw that occurs this time of year.

[knightfan26917]

PA is known far and wide as a state with horrible roads, due in part to our geography (bedrock close to the surface, lots of underground springs), it's very hard to keep the roads in good shape even in good weather, let alone the freeze/thaw that occurs this time of year.

Heh ... and that doesn't seem to take into consideration the tar and gravel that is put down on some of PA's roads. It never seems to fail ... each time we are back for the reunion in the Pittsburgh area, the roads around Dad's homeplace have been "treated". Makes for some dirty cars .

Cort:34swm."Mr Monte Carlo.Mr Road Trip".pig valve&pacemaker

WRMNshowcase.legos.HO.models.MCs.RTs.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort

"Promises mean everything" ... Everclear ... 'Wonderful'

[2005 EquinoxLS]

We are having a terrible time with them in Northeast Wisconsin. Told Mom to try to avoid them at all cost with the Aveo. I avoid them at all cost in the truck. No worries with the 2 old ones.I think this is the 1st winter in a long time where I could get them out once in the while. I will not subject them to this crap.

[NOS2006]

Don't even get me started on *&^$ing potholes...

[XP715]

At least your area makes an attempt to fix them, even if they can't keep up with them. Here in ASSachusetts, on the rare occasion that a pothole is fixed, it is the sorriest $h!tiest fix in recorded history. But there is a reason for this:

Every time a pothole is fixed, two State Police officers go out to the site and receive forty dollars an hour (as negotiated in their Union contract) to sit in their car and sleep or read the Boston Herald (I've seen both on numerous occasions and if you know people from the area then ask because I'm sure they have stories too) because ASSachusetts is the only state in the country that requires by law State Police details at roadway work sites instead of paying a flagman $10-15 an hour to do the same job. This is why State Troopers are making $90,000 a year or better JUST IN OVERTIME above their base salary of $49,000-68,000 (base salary depending on years worked). 225 ASSachusetts State Troopers made more than the governor's handsome salary of $140,000 last year because of these "necessary" details. And those totals don't even include the overtime pay that they also make working construction details paid for by the ASSachusetts Turnpike Authority and the ASSachusetts Port Authority. They claim this is necessary because a State Trooper offers the protection a flagman never could, even though a study done by Suffolk University examined data from details at construction sites in 103 cities and towns and found that ASSachusetts has the worst accident rate in the country measured by property damage and the second worst measured by bodily injury.

So you can see why our roads suck so bad if we're already bankrupt before the trucks show up to do anything about it.

So anyways, when the truck finally shows up at about 9:30, four fat retards from the town get out and stand there on the side of the road and examine the pothole thoroughly by standing on the side of the road with their hands on top of their shovels, propping up their chins with them and talking about baseball. On the rare occasion the State Troopers leave their cars for reasons other than to take a piss, they will also be involved in this conversation with their backs to traffic. This takes about 45 minutes, at which time it is time for coffee break. So the guys ask the State Troopers if they want anything, they hop in the crewcab F350, and they make a coffee run. They come back, distribute the coffees, and talk some more. This runs into about 11:00. Then they start pulling cones off the truck and setting them up and getting all their "tools" ready (a shovel for every guy in the truck). This takes about an hour so now it's lunchtime. The difficult decision of burgers vs. subs vs. pizza is debated. A decision is reached and the State Troopers are again asked if they want something. The retards hop back in the crewcab and make a food run. This takes about a half hour. They are also given a half hour for lunch, which begins when the guys are back out to the job and the food has been distributed. Lunch winds down at about 1:00 and now we're ready to start filling that pothole! But the truck with the asphalt isn't there yet. He shows up at about 2:30. The guys from the town know that their workday ends at 3:30 and they will make damn sure they're back to the town barn at least 15 minutes early. So the truck with the asphalt backs into position, and the guys get to work. They shovel way too much asphalt into the hole, not even worrying about the extra that's all over the street. After this is done, like lightning they pick up the cones and the shovels and everybody screws just in time for the beginning of afternoon rush hour. But what about the asphalt? They didn't even so much as hit the top of the lump with their shovel to pack it down! That's okay, though, because each and every person on the road is driving their own little personal steamroller! Yes! To compensate for the thousands upon thousands of dollars the state has just spent to pay for materials, vehicles, fuel, employees, and State Police overtime pay to fix one pothole, they leave it up to the taxpayers to pack down that asphalt each and every time they drive over it. And let me tell you, it's a great feeling to hear those little asphalt nuggets hitting the insides of your wheelwells and covering them with tar that you can, in some cases, never get off because you know that you're taking an active role in fixing the roads you drive on each and every time you hit a freshly filled ASSachusetts pothole.

I love this state

[knightfan26917]

Holy crap, XP ... that's just a mess ... worse than the potholes themselves.

And, NOS ... did a pothole get your car?

Cort:34swm."Mr Monte Carlo.Mr Road Trip".pig valve&pacemaker

WRMNshowcase.legos.HO.models.MCs.RTs.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort

"Nobody likes to be let down" ... Jack Johnson ... 'Flake'

[Intrepidation]

At least your area makes an attempt to fix them, even if they can't keep up with them. Here in ASSachusetts, on the rare occasion that a pothole is fixed, it is the sorriest $h!tiest fix in recorded history. But there is a reason for this:

Every time a pothole is fixed, two State Police officers go out to the site and receive forty dollars an hour (as negotiated in their Union contract) to sit in their car and sleep or read the Boston Herald (I've seen both on numerous occasions and if you know people from the area then ask because I'm sure they have stories too) because ASSachusetts is the only state in the country that requires by law State Police details at roadway work sites instead of paying a flagman $10-15 an hour to do the same job. This is why State Troopers are making $90,000 a year or better JUST IN OVERTIME above their base salary of $49,000-68,000 (base salary depending on years worked). 225 ASSachusetts State Troopers made more than the governor's handsome salary of $140,000 last year because of these "necessary" details. And those totals don't even include the overtime pay that they also make working construction details paid for by the ASSachusetts Turnpike Authority and the ASSachusetts Port Authority. They claim this is necessary because a State Trooper offers the protection a flagman never could, even though a study done by Suffolk University examined data from details at construction sites in 103 cities and towns and found that ASSachusetts has the worst accident rate in the country measured by property damage and the second worst measured by bodily injury.

So you can see why our roads suck so bad if we're already bankrupt before the trucks show up to do anything about it.

So anyways, when the truck finally shows up at about 9:30, four fat retards from the town get out and stand there on the side of the road and examine the pothole thoroughly by standing on the side of the road with their hands on top of their shovels, propping up their chins with them and talking about baseball. On the rare occasion the State Troopers leave their cars for reasons other than to take a piss, they will also be involved in this conversation with their backs to traffic. This takes about 45 minutes, at which time it is time for coffee break. So the guys ask the State Troopers if they want anything, they hop in the crewcab F350, and they make a coffee run. They come back, distribute the coffees, and talk some more. This runs into about 11:00. Then they start pulling cones off the truck and setting them up and getting all their "tools" ready (a shovel for every guy in the truck). This takes about an hour so now it's lunchtime. The difficult decision of burgers vs. subs vs. pizza is debated. A decision is reached and the State Troopers are again asked if they want something. The retards hop back in the crewcab and make a food run. This takes about a half hour. They are also given a half hour for lunch, which begins when the guys are back out to the job and the food has been distributed. Lunch winds down at about 1:00 and now we're ready to start filling that pothole! But the truck with the asphalt isn't there yet. He shows up at about 2:30. The guys from the town know that their workday ends at 3:30 and they will make damn sure they're back to the town barn at least 15 minutes early. So the truck with the asphalt backs into position, and the guys get to work. They shovel way too much asphalt into the hole, not even worrying about the extra that's all over the street. After this is done, like lightning they pick up the cones and the shovels and everybody screws just in time for the beginning of afternoon rush hour. But what about the asphalt? They didn't even so much as hit the top of the lump with their shovel to pack it down! That's okay, though, because each and every person on the road is driving their own little personal steamroller! Yes! To compensate for the thousands upon thousands of dollars the state has just spent to pay for materials, vehicles, fuel, employees, and State Police overtime pay to fix one pothole, they leave it up to the taxpayers to pack down that asphalt each and every time they drive over it. And let me tell you, it's a great feeling to hear those little asphalt nuggets hitting the insides of your wheelwells and covering them with tar that you can, in some cases, never get off because you know that you're taking an active role in fixing the roads you drive on each and every time you hit a freshly filled ASSachusetts pothole.

I love this state

The worst part is this is 100% true.

I was riding my friend yesterday and he accidentally hit a pothole. The impact was so hard It sounded like the suspension broke.. It didn't but it was very painful to listen too

Edited March 4, 2008 by Dodgefan

[knightfan26917]

I was riding my friend yesterday and he accidentally hit a pothole. The impact was so hard It sounded like the suspension broke.. It didn't but it was very painful to listen too

I can imagine.

Around here, if you're lucky to maneuver around one pothole, you're likely to hit a different on in the process .

Cort:34swm."Mr Monte Carlo.Mr Road Trip".pig valve&pacemaker

WRMNshowcase.legos.HO.models.MCs.RTs.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort

"So much more aware" ... Linkin Park ... 'Numb'

[2005 EquinoxLS]

Around here if it isnt the potholes its the foot or 2 deep of water in the lower parts of the road. The roads are finally a little clear now though there is still the pothole issue to deal with. Havent see anybody trying to fix them either.

[SuperSport623]

i usually dont take my car to school, but today i did.. im in the library know, still pissed cause a pothole took a tool on my car today...it seriously came outa nowhere, and guess what? the bolt holding my exhaust hanger to the rear frame rails? ripped out, taking the threads out with it... so as soon as i get out of school, i have to make a coat hanger exhaust hanger to get me home and hopefully fix it tonight...

[Camino LS6]

Locally, they haven't been too bad... yet.

This winter has been so wet that once we get the first dry spell, I expect some of the roads to crumble completely to gravel. The freeze/thaw cycle has happened enough times to account for several winter's worth of damage, and I expect it all to happen at once.

[gmpartsgirl]

Your telling me, I'm scared to death with the new Z. It barely clears the bottom of the driveway. I think Oklahoma recently scored in the top 5 for worst roads ever. We regularly have giant holes in bridges, imagine the poor guy who was driving under the bridge when the damn road fell through!! Even the parking lot at work is riddled with potholes and speed bumps and screws, nails, glass, etc. Talk about an obstacle course, and we've so outgrown the place, some people are having to park at the Taco Hell next door. You have to like squish your car in with a shoehorn. It's a little nerve racking with a new car.

[vonVeezelsnider]

Yeah, parking spaces are hell in a new car... The Impala has already been "love tapped" by some idiot in a lot, scuffing up the bumper from taillight to exhaust pipe ( )

[gmpartsgirl]

The first week i had the avalanche. I got a nasty door ding right on a body crease on the rear quarter, and then one of the neighborhood kids rode down the driveway between it and the red truck and left a handlebar scuff all the way down both bodies. But, I didn't know which brat did it, there are kids everywhere here. Then when I do go somewhere, my instinct is to park out in the north 40 somewhere, but then I think well now it stands out more to punks and thieves, so I can't win for losing. It sucks.

[NOS2006]

And, NOS ... did a pothole get your car?

No, I try to dodge them everyday (the road I work on is seriously much worse than a dirt road) in the Grand Prix with 16" wheels and huge tires.. and I know how loud and painful sounding it is if I can't swerve to avoid one. Now I've gotta be REALLY careful since I'm driving the Cobalt again.

[knightfan26917]

This winter has been so wet that once we get the first dry spell, I expect some of the roads to crumble completely to gravel. The freeze/thaw cycle has happened enough times to account for several winter's worth of damage, and I expect it all to happen at once.

I expect about the same here, too. The flooding we've had hasn't helped either .

No, I try to dodge them everyday (the road I work on is seriously much worse than a dirt road) in the Grand Prix with 16" wheels and huge tires.. and I know how loud and painful sounding it is if I can't swerve to avoid one. Now I've gotta be REALLY careful since I'm driving the Cobalt again.

Heh ... I know of a few roads around here I've started to avoid, too, because they tend to be worse than a dirt or gravel road. It's just amazing...and not in a good way .

Cort:34swm."Mr Monte Carlo.Mr Road Trip".pig valve&pacemaker

WRMNshowcase.legos.HO.models.MCs.RTs.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort

"I'm not scared now" ... Seether ... 'Fine Again'

[knightfan26917]

Speaking of potholes....

How a pothole forms:

http://media1.suburbanchicagonews.com/mult...24.imageContent

More bumps in the road:

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/courier...OLES_S1.article

IDOT's Highway Division Bureau of Maintenance has used 385 tons of cold patch fill material (for Kane County), versus 176 tons last year:

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/courier...OLES_S2.article

Cort:34swm."Mr Monte Carlo.Mr Road Trip".pig valve&pacemaker

WRMNshowcase.legos.HO.models.MCs.RTs.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort

"Don't look now, things just got worse" ... Dog's Eye View ... 'Everything Falls Apart'