I am getting mixed up in my seasons. Is this pothole season already? I always thought potholes arrived when spring weather came. But, that said, as we sit here with a -20 wind chill, the forecast says rain tonight. Maybe the potholes are as confused as I am, because they are here!
There is one stretch of road that prompted me to look at this topic. That would be the pavement on Trunk 10 from the intersection by the Pinegrove Power Centre (Boston Pizza / Canadian Tire) to the Bridgewater town limits (Irving on North Street). I hit a hole the other night and luckily I was not going very fast because I thought the old Sunfire was going to meet her maker. From what I have seen the past few days, I was one of the lucky ones.
Lots of people are reporting of bent rims and damaged tires along that road. Yesterday alone I saw a VW that looked like the front wheel left the vehicle just after noontime and then late afternoon there was another car changing a tire along the same stretch. So that is two victims in less than 12 hours alone.
How can that be and where does the blame fall? Is it that people are not paying close enough attention to swerve around the holes or is this just a case of nature took it’s toll on the road and there is not much we can do. I did see this morning that there is “Bump” sign that has be temporarily set up, so that will help…
It’s pothole season! Best practices for avoiding damage to your vehicle.
Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of roads and the folks that look after those roads have very few things on their side. Between the 20+ temperature fluctuations with blowing snow turning to torrential downpours, dealing with increased traffic on roadways and constant freezing and thawing conditions, wow. The old days of snow and cold until the spring thaw when the weight restrictions were posted, seem to be a thing of the past. Then there are the political folks that have to deal with the complaints and try to figure out a fix, I don’t envy any of those involved. But, that said, the past two mornings driving in on ice covered roads, trying to be cautious driving around craters that would take out the Mars Rover, I can’t help but wonder why.
The end of the week is coming up and that has meant price increases at the pumps on a regular basis and I thought that the taxes on the fuel went to improved roads. I remember driving better roads, cleared with salt and repaired quickly when you could gas up under $1 per litre.
I am confused and all I can say is I hope this is just a time of transition that will lead to an improved situation in the end. Until then, be careful as you drive to Bridgewater on Trunk 10. When you see the “Bump” sign, that is no joke. In the immoral words of Frankie “BE PREPARED!”
