ST. LOUIS – Back and forth St. Louis weather is tough on pavement and on commuters.
“We are coming out of winter, so we still got that freeze-thaw cycle going on,” Bob Becker, MoDOT’s St. Louis district maintenance engineer, said. “A lot of times, like now, we are going to get to 60 degrees in the next couple of days and it’s going to get below freezing it allows the water to expand in those holes and increase that crack.”
The changes prove tough on drivers.
“I mean, it’s honestly slowing down the commute in the mornings,” said driver Chad Lowe. “You definitely see two-foot-wide and every range of depth.”
While the deep freeze has taken its toll, the concern now is precipitation.
“We were really worried if it was going to rain this weekend, because that’s a big deal,” Becker said. “If rain gets inside those cracks and that moisture works in there as cars hit them, but we didn’t have much rain, so there aren’t as many potholes as we were concerned about.”
Officials with the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) urge drivers to avoid swerving.
“Slow down. It’s your best bet as you come across it because you really can’t tell how deep it is when you are coming to it,” Becker said.
Drivers are also advised to watch out for those working on the roads. MoDOT’s biggest concern during repairs is the safety of the crew.
“It doesn’t take much time to do them. So, we are doing them in a moving operation is what we call that. So, you are rolling up on these things,” Becker said. “We can’t be everywhere. We are out doing our best.”
You can report a pothole or other road issue by visiting MoDOT.org/Report-Road-Concern.
