With the warmer weather comes damaging potholes across NJ roads
As the days warm, snow piles melt, seeping into cracks in the asphalt. At night, refreezing causes expansion and loosens vulnerable areas, leading to potholes.
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Many New Jersey residents love it when the weather gets warmer, but with the warm-up come the consequences in the form of tire-swallowing potholes.
Get ready, because state repair crews say the worst pothole season in a decade is upon New Jersey.
Repair crews are out fixing some of the problem spots to keep those teeth-jarring, suspension-rattling incidents to a minimum.
Scott Vala stays busy at the Wall Township Midas repairing victims of this relentless winter.
“We've been seeing a lot of large suspension damage. We’ve been seeing a lot of tire damage,” said Vala.
As the days warm, snow piles melt, seeping into cracks in the asphalt. At night, refreezing causes expansion and loosens vulnerable areas, leading to potholes.
"When you're going around these roads right now, just don't go fast, you know, try to take a little bit slower, especially going into parking lots, parking lots, just where it's big,” said Vala.
Some of the worst spots are where driveways meet with major roads, like in Brick Township along Route 88.
“I think it should be repaired immediately. It's imperative that it’s repaired. Somebody is going to lose a wheel. It can cause a bad accident,” said Glen Mauro, pointing to a massive trench-sized pothole.
Just moments after Mauro left the parking lot, a crew with the New Jersey Department of Transportation arrived.
The hard work by these crews is not going unnoticed.
“The crews are out there. They are making a difference. Like I was speaking with you earlier, the town has improved as far as response to filling in some of the holes,” said Rob Gibbs, of Brick Township.
Most of these repairs are temporary cold patches. Once the weather warms, crews will switch to hot patching, leaving a more permanent fix to winter’s expensive wrath.
Drivers can report pothole problems by CLICKING HERE.
