Tire dealers and other repairers can expect to see customers coming in with pothole damage due to the record snowfalls and bitterly cold temperatures currently buffeting much of the nation.
Potholes, a problem usually reserved for late winter and early spring, have arrived early because of the weather conditions.
“If you haven’t hit a pothole yet you will soon,” notes Lew Tarlini, CEO of Patch Management, Inc.
Though road repair has long been considered a warm weather job, the company’s new patented technology consisting of recycled tire rubber allows service department trucks to fill potholes in mid-winter and immediately patch the afflicted pavement, he reports.
Potholes form when asphalt road surfaces crack under the heat of summer days and the constant stresses of traffic. These cracks allow snow and rainwater to seep into the underlying dirt and gravel. Winter freezing then pushes up pieces of the pavement, which is further dislodged by vehicles driving over it.
The Patch Management system requires only a single crewmember, and he or she never needs to leave the truck to complete the job, according to Tarlini.
“Instead the operator points the vehicle’s nozzle at the pothole and sprays in a warm substance to fill the hole, which is then topped off by a barrier coating made from recycled tires,” he explains.
“This method is particularly effective when snow and ice goes unplowed on side streets, creating potholes that normal crews would have a difficult time fixing,” says Tarlini.
He adds that the technique “also reduces the side effects of patching a pothole, including dangerous situations for workers exposed on the side of the road and traffic jams that occur when road crews take up multiple lanes on busy roads.”
For more information, visit www.potholekillers.com.
