Unusually rainy year linked to increase in potholes around Arkansas

Danny Jackson (left) and Peter Owens, with the Little Rock Public Works Department, fill in a pothole Friday morning on Riverfront Drive.
Danny Jackson (left) and Peter Owens, with the Little Rock Public Works Department, fill in a pothole Friday morning on Riverfront Drive.

A year of high rainfall has left a lot of Arkansas roadways pocked with potholes.

Statewide most counties received more rainfall in 2018 than usual, said Tabitha Clarke, a hydrologist at the National Weather Service office in North Little Rock.

Southwestern Arkansas received a record-breaking more than 80 inches.

The National Weather Service has collected rainfall accumulation information in Arkansas since 1875.

And, precipitation causes potholes.

It seeps into the asphalt or bubbles up underneath the asphalt after a big rain, weakening the material, said Eric Petty, Little Rock manager of the operations division.

It's "kind of like if you step in mud, your foot will seep down, but if you step on dry ground, your foot will hold up," he said.

As of Thursday, 2018 was Little Rock's sixth-rainiest year on record, causing a reported 2,832 potholes, which cost the city $380,995 in labor, equipment and materials to report, Petty said.

North Little Rock bought about $60,000 in materials to fix potholes this year, said Nathan Hamilton, a city spokesman. That was a 20 percent increase over 2017 when the city spent about $50,000 on such materials.

In Jonesboro, Street Director Steve Tippitt estimated that his city spent $100,000 on pothole repairs this year. He thinks that's partly because of the year's rainfall, but he said winter weather causes the most damage to streets.

"If we can scoot by without having a lot of freezing and thawing, hopefully we won't have a lot of damage this year," Tippitt said of the coming year.

During cold weather, state road crews are not able to use their most effective mix for patching potholes, said Danny Straessle, the Arkansas Department of Transportation's public information officer.

Teams use hot asphalt during the warmer months, but the hot asphalt will not bind during freezing weather, Hamilton said in an email.

"The cold mix is a temporary fix at best," he said.

This year, North Little Rock switched to a new type of mix to use during cold weather that does not require a separate bonding agent. Thus far, the results seem to be better, Hamilton said.

The year's rain has also taken a toll in El Dorado, said Debbie Stinson, the administrative assistant to the director of public works. The city does not keep a yearly count of potholes, she said, but 2018's rain has "really been hard on the streets."

North Arkansas, near the Missouri border, was the only area of the state that did not receive more rain this year than usual, Clarke said.

Fayetteville recorded about 2 inches less than normal at 45.82 inches, said Joe Sellers, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Tulsa.

Fayetteville spent $31,200 fixing potholes this year, and Joey Smith, the Fayetteville assistant transportation manager, said he has seen fewer potholes that usual.

The state Department of Transportation does not have a specific budget for repairing potholes, but each of the department's 10 districts receives between $18 million to $20 million for road repair, including pothole patching, Straessle said.

He added that the state will be approaching the state Legislature for $478 million to update highway maintenance.

Potholes are prolific this year.

"There are a lot of them, and we wish we had enough money to take care of them all," Straessle said.

Alan Walter -- construction engineer for state District 10, which covers the Jonesboro area -- said officials spend at least $50,000 on wintertime pothole patching.

"It's pretty much all year round, but it's much worse in the winter," he said.

When it's raining, he said, workers can't fix potholes, meaning the asphalt craters grow bigger and deeper.

"When it's raining every day, you can't go fix the one you've got, and a little one turns into a big one," Walter said.

Potholes can form overnight and become fairly deep, Petty said. Some potholes have caused damage to vehicles, blowing out tires and even knocking some vehicles out of alignment.

Also roads can develop ruts and depressions, which are more hazardous than potholes, Walter said. Ruts form from heavy use.

Depressions occur most often when the soil beneath the road is clay, which softens and can cause the road to sag. The only way to fix them is to put more asphalt over the road.

Local and state road crews frequently drive the roads to gauge pavement conditions, but they also rely on motorists to report potholes and other problems, officials said.

Petty's goal is to address Little Rock potholes within three days of them being reported, he said. Little Rock residents can report potholes by calling 311, where officials immediately log their complaints.

Metro on 12/31/2018

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