ARKANSAS, USA — Arkansans are set to see more potholes on roads after the snap freeze of the cold winter season.
The Benton County Road Department is responsible for over 1,700 miles of road maintenance, and Spokesperson Melody Kwok explained that citizens may see more potholes appear after the winter weather.
"The way that they're formed, primarily during the freeze-thaw cycle, you get a little bit of water or depression underneath the road that freezes up, expands, and causes that depression to sink in and get a little bit deeper. And then you start getting the potholes forming," said Kwok.
The communications director urges drivers to report any potholes they come across. She explains that reporters may receive a call from the road department to assist in locating the pothole.
"We have a lot of roads, and some of them are several miles long. So if you just say there's something out on gravel road that needs to be fixed, we need a little bit more specifics on something like that," said Kwok.
While the road crews work year-round, Kwok said spring and fall are the optimal times to repair potholes. It all depends on the moisture.
"If your dirt roads are dry, dusty, there's not a lot you can do about it, and the same thing with water. If it's wet or muddy and you go out there to try to fix it, you're just going to make a bigger mud hole," said Kwok.
"For people with a dirt road. The only thing you can really do is go out there and regrade the road might need to put some more material out there to fill it. With our asphalt roads, you have to go in and cut it out and put in some more asphalt and fix that subgrade," said Kwok.
"You might see that pothole up here a few times until we get the funds or a grant or something to go in and do some Hazard Mitigation in that area. We're working on several hazard mitigation projects right now with our ARPA money. So that's a continual project as the county develops, as you know, Benton County gets bigger, we're going to possibly have some of those issues just from, you know, little growing pains, Kwok says.
To report a pothole, you can visit website links or call the numbers below for your county road department:
- Benton County Road Department website and phone (479) 271-1052
- Washington County Road Department website and Phone (479) 444-1610
- Madison County Road Department Phone (479) 738-6822
- Sequoyah County Maintenance Phone (918) 775-4668
- Crawford County Highway Department Phone (479) 474-6017
- Johnson County Judge's Office Phone (479) 754-2175
- Sebastian County Road Department Website and Phone (479) 996-4485
- Le Flore County Maintenance Phone (918) 647–3737
You can visit the Arkansas Department of Transportation to Report a Pothole
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