Indiana, PA (February 14) - Roadway maintenance is a constant battle and water is pavement's principle adversary. This time of year, the elements join forces in their attack of roadways. Newer paved surfaces can withstand this assault, but older pavements with life cycle times in their latter years can show immediate signs of this distress in the form of potholes and cracks.
In order to maximize pavement life and preserve the integrity of road surfaces, roadway maintenance has a few basic fundamentals that must be followed. Those basic rules include timely repairs of cracks and other distress that may occur on road surface.
PennDOT reminds motorists that potholes and other roadway concerns can be reported by calling 1-800 FIX ROAD.
Potholes are created when water freezes and expands in and under pavement, causing cracks in the roadway. When the temperatures warm, the ice melts leaving pavement fractured and susceptible to more freeze-thaw damage. When vehicles travel over these areas, the pavement surface breaks and a pothole is formed.
The Department's toll-free 1-800-FIX ROAD (1-800-349-7623) hotline connects callers directly to their respective county maintenance office. PennDOT employees take pride in providing the people of their communities with fast quality service. Calling 1-800-FIX ROAD will result in prompt action and a telephone follow-up if the caller leaves their name and telephone number.
"The rainfall and flooding that occurred this past fall, coupled with the cold weather this winter, has caused some unexpected distress on our road surfaces and we are anxious to make repairs where needed. Our goal is to provide Pennsylvania motorists the best service possible and that means responding to every call we get as soon as we can," said Richard H. Hogg, District Executive. "To do this, we need the people we serve in District 10 to be our partners. We place maintenance first by patching every pothole that gets reported. We appreciate the input and the help we receive from the people who call 1-800-FIX ROAD and report a pothole."
Callers should try to be as specific as possible in describing the location of a pothole. Helpful information includes the State Route and section number (found on small, white signs along roadways), the direction of travel (eastbound or westbound lane, etc.) and any other useful location information.
Customers can use the hotline number for any reason including:
- Animal carcass removal
- Brush and tree removal
- Shoulder and drainage concerns
- Signage issues
- Other maintenance needs
- Information, complaints and compliments
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