How are potholes in the road formed? Seems like there’s nothing then one day 50 potholes overnight.

Question

How are potholes in the road formed? Seems like there’s nothing then one day 50 potholes overnight.

In: Chemistry

Answer 1

So the road expands and shrinks as it heats and cools. This cycle, along with a metric boatload of traffic, creates weak points in the road that eventually result in cracks. Once the cracks form, water can get inside them. In the summer it’s not a big deal, but in the winter the water freezes and expands, which then significantly weakens sections of the road. Then the plows come over and are basically applying a literal truckload of force on the road, and if you hit a section that’s weak and not well aligned with the rest of the road it just knocks the whole section out of the road.