By Alice Su, Special Writer
There’s a bumper sticker that becomes particularly relevant at this time every year: “I’m not drunk, I’m dodging potholes.”
The sudden return of sunshine and warm weather last week had Central Jersey enthralled with the prospect of spring. But amid the revelry of shedding coats, donning skirts and eating ice cream, a familiar danger has crept back into the scene. For drivers throughout New Jersey, warm weather signals melting snow, thawing ice and the dreaded arrival of pothole season.
Potholes are a notorious springtime curse. Throughout the winter, moisture from snow and ice seeps into cracks in the roads. When this moisture freezes and expands, it creates greater holes and splits in the roads. Snow removal crews also douse the streets with salt and other road-eroding chemicals, which only make things worse.
”The worse winter you have, the worse the potholes will be,” said Tom Crochet, assistant superintendent of Princeton Township Public Works, “It’s between the salt and the extreme temperatures and the moisture underneath the road surface. That’s what causes the potholes.”
The annual pothole epidemic forces drivers to upgrade their swerving skills and risk flat tires and broken rims. Although no major accidents have happened, the frequent car breakdowns have drivers complaining.
The public works departments are doing all that they can. Wayne Carr, Princeton Borough’s director of public works, said that his pothole maintenance teams have been out working from 7:30 a.m. every day.
”They go out first thing in the morning,” Mr. Carr said, “And they’re out most of the day.”
The problem with filling potholes right now is that the weather is still too cold for road teams to use hot asphalt. The plants that make hot summer mix, a more durable combination of road-grade asphalt and aggregate, don’t open until late March.
Until then, maintenance crews have to make do with a type of soft asphalt called cold mix. But it is only temporarily effective. Another freezing and thawing cycle would make the pothole reappear.
”If we have freezing rain and more snow, then it’ll freeze and blow back out again,” Mr. Carr said, “You can’t do a permanent fix until the springtime.”
”It all depends on Mother Nature,” said Mr. Crochet, “If you have a crystal ball you can lend me, I’ll let you know.”
But it is still February and the public works departments are ready. They have steeled themselves for a relentless pothole war.
”We anticipate doing a lot of patching this year,” Mr. Crochet said, “This is the only way. It’s just the nature of the beast.”
Charles Rogers, road foreman at Plainsboro Public Works, is used to the demands of each spring’s pothole battle. He got the call for the season’s first pothole at 11 p.m. last Sunday night.
”It was an emergency one,” Mr. Rogers said, “It was probably about seven to eight inches deep, and two feet long.”
Mr. Rogers’ team started operating on the rest of Plainsboro’s roads the next morning. Within half a week, they had fixed 70 to 100 potholes, he said.
”We just go road by road,” Mr. Rogers said, “Though a lot of times the pothole will peel right back up.”
He said it is frustrating for the workers when they have to fill the same potholes over and over again.
”It gets to you,” he said, “You could be doing a lot of other things, you know.”
He said the potholes aren’t daunting for his crew, who have been working day and night for months to combat this winter’s deluge of snow and ice.
”I look for guys who want to work,” Mr. Rogers said. “It can be cold out there. You also need people who have a good head on their shoulders, to deal with the traffic.”
For Mr. Rogers, it’s become normal to receive a call from work at 2 or 3 a.m., get out of bed and venture into the cold to direct snow-plowing operations.
”I’ve been called pretty much every night since Christmas,” he said, “If it’s something that has to be done, we’ll come in any time to fulfill it.”
Mr. Rogers often leaves his home in the middle of the night, works until seven a.m., and takes a quick nap before returning to the roads at nine. Does he ever sleep?
”You get a couple of hours here and there,” Mr. Rogers answered, “That’s the main thing you need. It keeps you going.”
Mr. Crochet’s and Mr. Carr’s teams are the same.
”We don’t wait for a specific time,” Mr. Crochet said, “We get out and do it right away, when the roads become hazardous — whether it’s 4 o’clock in the afternoon, 3 in the morning, or 8 o’clock at night.”
”They’re plowing, and then they’re salting, and then they do the sidewalks, the parking lots and all that stuff. Then they start hauling snow,” Mr. Carr said, “The storm is just one part of it. It’s more about the cleanup afterwards.”
Potholes are a part of that cleanup. All the public works departments offer e-mails or hotlines where residents can report potholes, so people need not hesitate to call for help when the next wave of potholes appears.

