ElI5: why is it that we tend to have more pot holes on street roads but not many on freeway or highways?
In: Engineering
A few contributing things:
A lot of motorways and high speed roads were purpose built from scratch to relatively modern standards. A lot of country and town roads are just paved over old 19th century (or earlier) roads. Foundation problems apply to paving as well as buildings.
Town roads have water, gas, power, sewers and telecoms buried in them, which needs to be dug up and worked on from time to time. A lot of potholes originate from the repairs done to the road surface not being done properly and then the surface breaking up.
Finally, a pothole on a 70mph road is a very high priority item for the maintainer of the road and needs to be fixed asap – sometimes necessitating an immediate lane closure. Potholes on lower speed roads can be tolerated for days or weeks while the maintainer gets around to fixing them. If the pothole exists for less time, you’re less likely to actually see it.
Latest Answers