A pothole may look like sudden damage, but it usually begins a year or more earlier with water entering the pavement, eroding the base and weakening the surface. Knowing how that damage develops explains why some repairs last for years and others fail within weeks.
How a pothole forms
It starts when water enters through a crack, failed joint or saturated edge. The water erodes and softens the stone base. Repeated freezing and thawing leave a void, and the asphalt above loses its support. Traffic flexes the surface until it breaks, and the open hole collects more water and grows.
Why quick patches fail
Shoveling cold mix into a wet, ragged, unprepared hole is a commute fix, not a repair — there's no bond, no compaction, and the void underneath is still there. These patches routinely pop out within months, which is why potholes seem to "come back." They never left; they were just covered.
What a proper repair looks like
- Cut back to sound pavement — squared edges in solid material, not feathered into crumble.
- Fix the foundation — remove soft base material, replace and compact new stone. This is the step cheap repairs skip and the reason ours hold.
- Tack and fill with hot mix, compacted in lifts to density.
- Seal the perimeter so the seam doesn't become the next water entry point.
Timing and triage
When weather allows, repair potholes promptly and properly. In winter, a temporary cold patch can keep water out and tires safe until hot asphalt is available, but it should be treated as a temporary fix. The best defense against potholes remains fall crack filling and drainage that moves water away.
