WASHINGTON — The Washington region has gone to pots(hole).
After an unrelenting winter, drivers, AAA Mid-Atlantic and local transportation departments agree: The trail of potholes has created the roughest ride since 2010.
“The freeze thaw that we’ve gotten this year is very similar to the 2010 season,” says Frank Pacifico, chief of the street and bridge maintenance division for the District Department of Transportation.
In recent weeks, DDOT crews have averaged 250 pothole repairs per day. Even so, Pacifico says drivers may not fully appreciate the progress until early March.
“With temperatures that have been fluxing between 50 degrees down to 7 degrees in a 48-hour period, it really takes a toll on the infrastructure,” he says.
Throw and go crews are in each quadrant of the District, filling potholes as they find them. Other crews respond specifically to reports of dangerous potholes.
AAA Mid-Atlantic has said drivers in this area average close to $600 in repairs related to pothole damage.
This winter has offered the ideal pothole-making conditions.
“Moisture gets down into the cracks in the roadway, it freezes and just dislodges the asphalt from its base,” Pacifico says.
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