Information is spreading online that after the snow melts, Ukrainian roads are covered with potholes, and in some cases, even those that can damage a car. Why this happens and who is responsible for deep potholes on the roads, Maksym Volosinchuk, director of a road company, told a journalist from UNN.
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According to the director of the road company, road surfaces have clear operating standards.
There are standards for inter-repair periods. This is 5-8 years after a major overhaul. After 5-8 years, the top wear layer must be replaced. This is approximately 5 centimeters of asphalt concrete that needs to be removed and replaced. Just as a tire has its wear limit, a road cannot last forever.
Separately, Maksym Volosinchuk emphasizes the impact of freezing and thawing cycles on roads. These are what destroy asphalt from the inside. Moisture gets into the pores of the pavement and expands when it freezes.
For asphalt concrete, the standard is 50 freeze-thaw cycles. One cycle is when it freezes and thaws. If about 30 such cycles occur during the winter, the pavement significantly loses its resource. The more such changes, the faster potholes appear.
According to the expert, de-icing reagents have an additional impact. They ensure traffic safety but shorten the service life of the pavement. This is a forced balance between safe passage and road durability.
When the road is sprinkled with reagents, the snow melts and water flows into the pores. At night, it freezes and destroys the pavement from the inside. This is one of the main reasons why roads look worse after winter, but without reagents, traffic would be dangerous.
At the same time, he assures that substandard asphalt cannot be put into operation on roads.
Substandard asphalt concrete cannot be accepted and paid for. There is incoming control at the plant, inspections during laying and after the work is completed. The customer involves laboratories and technical supervision. No one will simply transfer funds.
But still, when potholes have already appeared, road workers carry out emergency pothole repairs, but this is a temporary measure and has a guarantee of only one year.
The guarantee for pothole repair is one year, because it is essentially a patch. Hot asphalt concrete cannot be laid at sub-zero temperatures, because the average temperature must be no lower than plus five. Therefore, sometimes a pothole is filled with cheaper mixtures to ensure safe passage. This is a temporary solution, not a major overhaul.
Regarding responsibility, each road has its own balance holder - state or local, says Maksym Volosinchuk. He is responsible for the safe condition of the pavement. In case of car damage, the driver can contact the police, and then the issue is resolved in court.
The balance holder bears full responsibility for road safety. If a person damages a car, they contact the police, and then it is determined who owns the section. But if the inter-repair periods have long expired, and funds for renewal have not been allocated, this is also taken into account. The organization cannot carry out repairs without funding.