AASHTO Journal, 20 May 2016
The Rhode Island Department of Transportation is crediting a pilot program this past winter to use “Pothole Killer” trucks that automatically fill and seal the trouble spots with cutting the number of driver claims for pothole damage.
As a result, the agency said, “RIDOT intends on making this technology an integral part of its pavement management maintenance program in the future.”
After a particularly harsh winter of 2014-15, RIDOT said it augmented its pothole patching methods with the high-technology vehicles that allow workers who stay safely inside while repairing road damage using equipment with a pneumatic arm that extends beyond the truck cab.
The repair rigs can apply their patches in below-freezing temperatures, RIDOT said, while the patches are more durable than with traditional methods.
“One of the most basic and important functions of RIDOT, where the rubber meets the road literally, is filling potholes,” said RIDOT Director Peter Alviti. “This is a good example of using innovative materials, methods and management to create cost-effective solutions for maintenance of our roadways and bridges.”
The repair trucks use a spray-injection technology that cleans away debris, and fill the holes within minutes with a hot-patch emulsion mix that can provide winter-long patches. By comparison, traditional methods using crews shoveling in cold-patch material often require workers to return and fill the potholes repeatedly during the winter, for extra cost and disruption to traffic.
“Potholes are not just a nuisance – they can cause damage to cars and increase the risk of crashes,” Gov. Gina Raimondo said. “Instead of relying on the old way of filling potholes, we’ve implemented new technologies such as these automated pothole patchers to get the job done quicker and better, and keep Rhode Islanders safe.”
A number of states have begun testing or using the devices, both because of the repair quality and to safeguard repair crews who are at greater risk of being struck by passing vehicles when they get out of trucks to shovel asphalt to patch potholes. The AASHTO Journal reported earlier on a deployment of “Pothole Killer” trucks by the New Jersey DOT.
RIDOT said while this winter appeared milder than in recent years, “it was actually considered an average winter in terms of severity with a total of 14 storms.”
So, it could judge the effectiveness of the pothole patching machines by comparing the number of pothole damage claims.
“Taking into account an average number of claims over the last five years, the number of pothole claims this year were down more than 70 percent,” it said. “RIDOT averaged approximately 560 pothole claims per year in the previous five years. This past winter, the department only received 151 claims.”
