WASHINGTON — In Pittsburgh, there’s baseball season, football season, hockey season — and pothole season.
The freeze and thaw of the colder months causes water that seeps through the roadway to expand and crack the pavement. The average Pennsylvania motorist spends close to $640 a year in additional costs — such as repairs, extra tire wear, and depreciation — from driving on rough roads in the state, according to the Washington, D.C.-based research group TRIP.
“As soon as it heats up, you can expect the potholes,” said Jim Garrity, a spokesman for AAA East Central. “We get more flat tire calls when the weather warms. We get more people stranded on the side because of the potholes.”
To try to extend the life of pavement, the Federal Highway Administration this week awarded a $700,000 grant to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. The money will go toward what is known as “targeted overlay pavement solution” that uses modified asphalt to extend the life of both asphalt and concrete pavements.
The new material is designed to reduce the need for maintenance, thus reducing congestion because fewer work zones are needed; to extend the life of the surface before it needs to be replaced; and to protect the roadway during flooding.
“Innovation is essential for the future of transportation infrastructure and this grant will help the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation improve safety and extend the life of roads for the traveling public,” said Shailen Bhatt, an administrator for the Federal Highway Administration.
The grant was one of 10 demonstration projects funded this week by the agency. In all, $8.8 million was awarded for projects in eight states and the District of Columbia.
The money comes from President Joe Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure law and is designed to reduce the costs of building and repairing roads by using new technologies.
“Potholes are a symptom of more underlying problems with pavement,” said Rocky Moretti, director of policy and research for TRIP, whose funders include construction companies, insurers, engineering firms and labor unions. “The more productive approach is to put in place a pavement preservation program, which is a lot cheaper for commuters in the long run.”
New Federal Highway Administration statistics show that 3,022 — or 13% — of Pennsylvania’s 23,257 bridges were rated as deficient in 2022, down from 13.4% a year ago. The average age of state-owned bridges in Pennsylvania is more than 50 years old, according to the AAA. Only five other states had a higher percentage of bridges in poor condition.
More than half of the state’s major roads — 51% — are in poor or mediocre condition, according to TRIP.
“In terms of weather challenges, it has all of the challenges of freeze and thaw,” Mr. Moretti said. “It is an appropriate area to be doing that type of research in, and, clearly, Pennsylvania, with an aging system, has been trying to address the significant backlog of both pavement and bridge challenges.”
Several other states are finding these overlays or highly modified asphalt do extend the life of pavement, including Maryland, New Jersey and New York, according to the Federal Highway Administration.
Even before getting the grant, PennDOT began using the overlays on its initial list of projects, so it will use the federal grant for work on other roads.
Should the new pavement work on a state level, it can be brought to local transportation departments as well. Most roads are built and maintained by local governments, which do not have the ability to develop and test these new technologies.
But the state does, said Benjamin Schmidt, chief technology officer for East Liberty-based RoadBotics by Michelin, a company that uses artificial intelligence tech to map roads to help municipalities determine infrastructure needs.
“DOT tests these new advances and that hopefully moves on to be something that the city of Pittsburgh can adopt,” Mr. Schmidt said.
“We should get real measurable savings and longevity in our infrastructure and they're moving the needle for everyone, The DOT is trying new innovations and adopting new technologies. That can help every community.”
Jonathan D. Salant: jsalant@post-gazette.com, @JDSalant
First Published: August 24, 2023, 2:32 p.m.
Updated: August 25, 2023, 9:44 a.m.
