Tri-City forecast: More potholes, and lots of ’em

As snow and ice recede in the Tri-Cities, motorists face a fresh hazard: potholes.

Throughout the region, moisture soaking through pavement is weakening soil, loosening pavement and creating holes. Lots and lots of holes.

Tri-City public works departments began scrambling to patch the little pools almost as soon as the snow stopped falling.

In Kennewick, the city’s public works crews shifted away from de-icing roads early Saturday to patching some of the worst potholes in the region, along 10th Avenue.

By midday, crews had applied a temporary cold-patch system to 72 potholes on the bumpiest corridors.

As temperatures rise and fall, crews will toggle between de-icing roads and applying temporary patches. Pothole patching sessions are scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, assuming workers aren’t needed to apply salt and de-icer to roads.

Fixing potholes when it’s cold isn’t ideal, but the temporary patches help prevent further deterioration and vehicle damage, said Cary Roe, Kennewick’s public works director. The city will revisit its potholes after temperatures warm and the asphalt plants resume production.

After weeks of snow, ice and subfreezing temperatures, Roe and his peers across the Mid-Columbia are taking stock of the damage the unusual weather inflicted on roadways.

Freezing and thawing cycles wreak havoc on all manner of pavement, accelerating wear and leading to costly repairs sooner. With winter still in full swing, public works directors are already revisiting their summer work plans.

As for potholes, they’ll keep appearing in the weeks to come.

“We expect to see a lot,” said Matt Mahoney, Franklin County public works director.

Mahoney said county road departments have one advantage over their city peers: their roads typically are gravel and asphalt based with little concrete. It’s a combination that doesn’t tolerate snow plows very well, so crews run their snow-scrapers a few inches over the road surface.

That doesn’t mean there won’t be as much damage.

Excessive moisture in gravel roads can weaken road beds to the point that the county may be forced to put weight restrictions on some stretches.

As for potholes, Mahoney said crews will use the temporary cold patch system on potholes, then return in the spring to make more permanent repairs.

Matt Rasmussen, Benton County’s chief engineer, said potholes will emerge over time as the snow and ice give way to water. The slower the melt, the better, he said.

Benton County manages 800 miles of road, of which 650 are paved.

Rasmussen said crews will repair the larger holes with temporary patches and leave the smaller ones until weather conditions are more favorable. Rasmussen said road crews have been stretched thin by six unrelenting weeks of snow and ice.

“This last week was probably the first week we haven’t worked 15 hours or more of overtime for every guy,” he said.

All of the local public works departments say they’re actively surveying their major arterials and collector streets for potholes, but they welcome reports from the public, and they move as quickly as possible to repair them.

This story was originally published January 23, 2017 at 6:14 PM with the headline "Tri-City forecast: More potholes, and lots of ’em."