Roads, parking areas, and driveways all develop potholes over time. Individuals all throughout the country have complained about the potholes that appear in their driveways, on roadways, and just about anywhere there is pavement. These potholes can be annoying and damaging to your car if you don’t have them filled.
If you wait too long to fix them, they will also keep doing serious damage to the surface they are on and even your vehicles. These potholes make for a rough and even hazardous ride since they can harm tires and even affect how a car’s wheels are aligned.
That said, authorities allocate funds for pothole repair each year, yet it appears that potholes can appear out of nowhere. So, you might be wondering, what specifically causes potholes?
Water or Moisture
When water expands and contracts, it causes potholes to form on the pavement because it frequently seeps under the pavement through the pavement surface. The pavement is weakened as a result. It becomes even more loosened by traffic before eventually crumbling and popping out, slowly becoming a pothole.
Sudden Changes in Temperature
In spring, potholes typically appear because the roadways shift as a result of temperature changes. Pieces of the road disintegrate or fall out when the pavement and concrete expand in the warmer air, causing large gaps that could damage your car.
Extremely low temperatures can also cause the pavement to shrink and compress, which causes tension in the pavement and suggests that the pavement is straining to separate from itself. Thus, the pavement cracks and will form to release some of the tension if it builds up to a dangerous level within the pavement.
When it Freezes
The pavement will deteriorate and keep breaking if the water freezes and thaws constantly. Fragments of the pavement material deteriorate as cars and trucks drive over the vulnerable area in the pavement, causing the material to be shifted or broken under the pressure, resulting in a pothole.
Heavy Vehicles
In comparison to typical cars, heavier vehicles like trucks with even heavier baggage can have an enormous influence on pavement conditions. Parts of the driveway material get weaker as the weight of heavy vehicles moves over the area where the pavement is weak, leading to the substance being shifted or breaking down under the heavy weight.
Therefore, when large vehicles pass over vulnerable portions of the pavement, the weight of the vehicle causes the pavement surface to give way, creating potholes.
Insufficient Thickness
Lastly, these potholes can also occur when the pavement is made with insufficient thickness. When the pavement is made with insufficient thickness, it becomes much more susceptible to the damage we have mentioned above.
For example, with insufficient thickness, heavy vehicles can easily cause the pavement to break down and form potholes over time.
Conclusion
There are many contributing factors that cause potholes. So, you should ensure that you’re able to protect your pavement well. However, there are some cases in which potholes are inevitable. So, if you have potholes in your driveway, immediately repairing the pothole would be ideal.