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Pothole problem increases with weather change in Farmington

New Mexico Department of Transportation has 21 miles of highway in city limits
A large, partially patched pothole on New Mexico Highway 516, East Main Street in Farmington. (David Edward Albright/Durango Herald)

Fluctuations in winter temperatures have made potholes pop up seemingly overnight in Farmington, annoying drivers and potentially causing damages to vehicles and injuries to people, according to Farmington Public Works director David Sypher.

And Sypher said the city wants residents to know where the potholes are.

Some of the worst potholes are on New Mexico state highways, such as New Mexico 516, East Main Street, between Foothills Drive and Country Club Drive.

Farmington has 21 miles of state highways in city limits, and they receive heavy use each day. Major traffic routes include East and West Main Street, Browning Parkway and the Bloomfield Highway (New Mexico Highway 64), are maintained by the New Mexico Department of Transportation.

The city’s Community Works Department, though not responsible for maintaining or repairing potholes on state highways, does occasionally assist with repairs.

Paul Brasher, NMDOT District 5 engineer, said that when they get a report of a troublesome pothole, a crew is dispatched to repair it. However, in a severe winter, it is a battle to keep up with repairs.

Sypher said in a KOB TV interview potholes can cause “damage to your car, or to your suspension, or people trying to avoid them swerving into somebody else. It can cause some real problems.”

“We find ourselves in the winter situation where crews are busy plowing, salting and sanding where there is snow,” Brasher said. Otherwise, they repair potholes and fences and do litter cleanup.

Brasher said the NMDOT crew of about 15 workers that serves San Juan County has vacant positions. “But we get after them as quickly as we can,” he said.

NMDOT District 5 includes San Juan and Rio Arriba counties and stretches to Chama, Taos and Santa Fe, so there’s a lot of state highways to inspect and maintain, Brasher said.

Farmington has 21 miles of New Mexico state highways in city limits. (Courtesy city of Farmington)

Amid freeze-thaw cycles of winter – with sleet, rain, snow and ice – the pothole battle rages on.

Even after repair, Brasher said, a “ragged edge” of a pothole allows water seepage and freezing, which inevitably pushes the repair material upward and often causes repair failure.

Although the repair material is designed for cold weather, which includes cleaning and drying the hole, the repairs do not last long.

Cost of repair work is also a factor in keeping up with potholes.

“Construction costs have skyrocketed,” Brasher said, and that includes costs for repair materials that come bagged during winter months.

David Sypher said the “normal pothole formula is average daily traffic, huge temperature swings and moisture. You take those three things and you will have potholes.”

He said Main Street, 20th Street and others that have high traffic will get potholes. Daily freeze thaws in 30- to 40-degree temperature swings in high-elevation regions during seasons of heavy precipitation create the perfect conditions to create potholes.

“The vibration from the pounding of the cars,” contributes to the problem, he said.

Sypher said his crews have helped on state highways this winter and they send a bill to the state.

“We’re working very hard together to get a maintenance and agreement system together,” he said. He said the fourth element is the existing condition of the road.

Deteriorated road condition equals more potholes. And Sypher has seen an increase in potholes this year with about 127% of normal snowpack.

Sypher said his 4 man crew assigned to repair potholes are filling about 250 potholes a day.

Many motorists take poor road conditions in stride, but government agencies state that they want to be informed of dangerous conditions.

Brasher said people who have experienced vehicle damage by hitting potholes should contact New Mexico government risk management, where a claim can be filed.

“We have noticed an increase due to the weather … the variability,” said Jim Murray, NMDOT District 5 spokesman. He added that crews “are suffering from manpower shortages, the same as everybody else.” Every patrol has at least one vacancy, he said.

Murray said people who experience pothole damage to their vehicle can contact him directly at (505) 629-8785 or email at james.murray@dot.nm.gov.

He will put residents in touch with a risk-management team, who will send a tort claim that will go to the General Services Department.

Murray said New Mexico 516 on the east side of Farmington “will get some attention this year.”

Nationwide, a new survey from AAA found that last year one in 10 drivers sustained vehicle damage significant enough to warrant a repair after hitting a pothole. With an average price tag of almost $600 per repair, damage caused by potholes cost drivers a staggering $26.5 billion in 2021 alone.

AAA offers this advice:

  • Keep your eyes on the road. An alert driver is less likely to hit a pothole.
  • If it is safe to do so, drive around the pothole.
  • Standing water or puddles may disguise a deep pothole. Approach cautiously and drive as if potholes are beneath the water.
  • When a pothole cannot be avoided, reduce speed, but avoid hard braking. Hitting potholes at high speeds compresses vehicle suspension and adds extra force to the tire, which increases the chance of severe damage such as knocking the wheels out of alignment, affecting the steering and bending or breaking suspension components.
  • After hitting a pothole, listen for new or unusual noises or vibrations that might indicate vehicle damage.

Damion Sanchez, assistant manager at Four States Tire and Service in Farmington, said he has seen a lot of pothole damage, according to KOB.com.

Some vehicles hit vehicles and it “just completely blew out the tire and did damage to the wheel to the point to where we couldn’t fix anything, and they had to get a new setup,” he said.

The issue of highway design and engineering arises when potholes and road deterioration are so obvious. New Mexico ranks No. 25 in terms of highway conditions, according to Consumer Affairs in 2022.

Looking at the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act over five years, New Mexico would expect to receive $2.5 billion of federal aid for highway apportioned programs and $225 million for bridge replacement and repairs.

Potholes patched, but how long will they last? (David Edward Albright/Durango Herald)

The question arises: Are highways properly designed, engineered and constructed?

Brett Hollister, an engineer with Ayres Associates in Wisconsin, said soil testing and traffic are the key variables in pavement structure design. He stated in an email that “projecting the level of traffic about 20 years into the future – the period during which the road is expected to perform … is essential to know what the local government is planning along the roadway.”

“One key factor with concrete is that it cannot be laid continuously like asphalt,” Hollister said. “It must be laid in sections with contraction/expansion joints in between; otherwise, it won’t have the required room to contract/expand and will most certainly buckle during expansion.”

“If the soils and traffic aren’t analyzed, the construction method and pavement material won’t matter much, as the roadway will probably bust up soon after construction, and the pavement structure will not be sufficient to hold up,” Hollister said.

Time and road conditions will tell how increased funding is utilized to impact the pothole situation across San Juan County.

“Design standards are probably a little bit higher, materials are better and the testing technology has improved over time,” Brasher said. “So it should last a little longer.”

The public is encouraged to report potholes to the City of Farmington at (505) 325-6531 and to the New Mexico Department of Transportation at (505) 795-0533.