Where the Axle Meets the Road: Potholes in Richmond, VA
by Potholes are hopeless, natural occurrences in any highway and cannot be avoided – neither by the highway, nor by my car. I can appreciate the difficulties that road engineers face when they try to create a durable highway system. I can even sympathize with the tireless crews of workers who are tasked with filling in these potholes so regularly. However, the taxpayer in me wants to know why the city can’t seem to keep up with the fill-up.
Hey, wasn’t that supposed to be the rubber meets the road?
My red 1995 Honda Civic EX two-door coupe is on its second axle in five years, thanks to Richmond’s potholes (and my frequent encounters with them).
I bought “The Clown Car” (so-called for its tiny size and the number of adults who can fit into it) five years ago for a little less than $7,000. With less than 130,000 miles, she should stick with me for another half-decade, but she’s fading and she’s fading fast.
This car’s original axle cracked just days before a cross-country car trip with my sister, Jennie, in 2002. The cause of death: wheel misalignment that was “most likely” incurred by incessant encounters with “road hazards” (meaning “potholes”), according to my mechanic.
My second axle, according to the same life-saving mechanic, is on its last leg. It should last maybe three months as long as I do not take my car on the highway or drive above 55mph. It’s a good thing, then, that I’m such an enthusiastic city dweller and work from home most days.
Richmond History
Richmond, my car and I have a beautiful history, despite our oft-bumpy relationship. I learned the art of the stick shift while stalling out at every stop sign in my southbank neighborhood.
I learned to “pump the break!!!!!!!” when going down the infamous Ethyl Corporation slope with my mom one summer afternoon.
Yet, despite my years of practice and patience with the obstacle-laden urban landscape, I have not yet found the strategy required to maneuver around Richmond’s many potholes. Nor have I found the will to forgive the crevasses for the damage suffered by my car, my baby.
Pot-entially an Unavoidable Dilemma
According to my friend Clint Smith, a roads and highways engineer with the Timmons Group, a pothole is “the product of the freezing and thawing of water in the sub-base and soil under the surface courses of the roadway.” A pothole, as such, is caused by temperature conditions in the road that are out of engineering control.
Potholes are hopeless, natural occurrences in any highway and cannot be avoided – neither by the highway, nor by my car. I can appreciate the difficulties that road engineers face when they try to create a durable highway system. I can even sympathize with the tireless crews of workers who are tasked with filling in these potholes so regularly. However, the taxpayer in me wants to know why the city can’t seem to keep up with the fill-up.
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