It’s pothole season again.
At best, potholes can turn an ordinary drive into a slalom run as you try to avoid them if you see them in time. At worst, you either don’t see them until it’s too late or just can’t avoid them, and the impact leaves you wondering if your tires, brakes or suspension will make it to wherever you’re going.
And if it seems like there are more of them this year, you’re probably right. Seth MacLean, Peterborough Public Works director and assistant town administrator, recently said that potholes and frost heaves tend to increase in winters like this one, with frequent freezes, thaws and rain. According to a report from New Hampshire Public Radio, his colleagues around New Hampshire seem to be noticing the same thing.
KürtBlomquist, the public works director in Keene, told NHPR that even though it’s too early to tell if there are more potholes this year, they’re increasing at a rapid rate.
“Seems to be in the past, sometimes you start seeing a few potholes form here and there, but this year with the up and down weather we’ve had in the last several weeks, they have just come into full blossom,” he said.
The culprit? Climate change, according to University of New Hampshire professor of engineering Jo Sias, who explained to NHPR that when there are more freeze-thaw cycles, bodies of ice under roads get bigger, leading to larger weaknesses once the ice thaws.
And those weaknesses are what’s making for a very bumpy ride.
So while we’re pretty sure there are more potholes, what are the worst potholes in the area, the ones that make you jerk your steering wheel at the last second to avoid them, the ones that jolt you when you hit them, the ones that you warn your family and friends about when you see them or on Facebook?
We want to know, and we’re running a contest to find out.
Take a picture of the pothole you think is the worst – making sure to be safe at all times — and send it to ledgertranscript.com/contests by noon on March 11. Official voting starts March 14. Whoever submits the worst of the worst potholes will win a gift certificate to Gauthier Auto Service to fix the damage.