Cities Wage Holey War : Bumper Crop of Potholes Keep Road Crews Busy Patching

Potholes can cause more than a bumpy ride. They can puncture a tire or ruin a car’s alignment. Some behemoths have been known to throw a motorcyclist off his bike.

So be careful out there--new potholes have blossomed with last week’s storms.

As rain pounded the pavement, water seeped into cracks and lifted up the surface, causing some of the worst road damage in more than a decade in parts of Orange County. Maintenance crews have been busy repairing them.

“We’re trying to fill all the deep, dangerous holes first,” said Leon Tobako, a Santa Ana street maintenance supervisor. “The smaller ones can just be annoying for drivers, but deep holes can damage tires and make a driver lose control of his car.”

“This has been the worst year (for damage) that I can remember in the last 15 years,” he added.

Most of the damage has occurred along major streets where heavy traffic pounds the surface, accelerating deterioration. And some of the hardest-hit areas have been in Santa Ana, where the streets are old and heavily used.

An 18-person Santa Ana squad--instead of the usual two-person team--has been assigned to fill holes ranging from six inches in diameter to three feet wide. Tobako estimated that his larger crew is averaging 500 potholes a day; the typical daily total is 75.

Streets are composed of several layers. Although the pattern varies, there is usually a dirt floor, then a rock base of six to 12 inches, composed of sand and pebbles. On top of that, a six-inch asphalt floor is rolled out. During minor repairs, new asphalt is poured over the surface as a patch.

“The asphalt gets old,” Tobako said. “The oils dry out and (the surface) starts to crack. Water gets inside, the vehicles weigh down the road and work on the cracks until they get big like this.” He pointed to a stretch of Bristol Street near Edinger Avenue, where the cracked road resembled an alligator’s hide.

“Most of our work is the result of water damage,” said Mike Dougherty, a crew leader who usually works on patching cracks. “There’s just a lot more damage with the floods.”

The workers repair the holes by first pouring oil, which acts as an adhesive, then scooping steaming asphalt into the cavity and smoothing it over with their shovels. Then a huge, steamroller-type contraption with vibrating steel drums applies tons of pressure to compress the asphalt.

In Irvine, which has heralded itself as a “pothole-free zone” for the past four years, the storm’s damage was severe enough that for the first time the city was unable to fulfill its promise to fill any hole within 24 hours.

The Public Works Department has appointed a crew to work on potholes only. Damage has been evenly distributed near the UC Irvine campus and the Irvine business complex near the airport, said George Irving, manager of the department.

Farther south, little damage was reported in unincorporated areas overseen by the county Environmental Management Agency, which began an aggressive pavement maintenance program seven years ago. Inspectors evaluate all roads and service them during early stages of deterioration.

“We have very little pavement damage, and we think that in large measure it reflects our ongoing program to maintain the roads,” said Tom Connelie of the agency’s public works division.

Phil Pierce, streets division manager for Orange, which also has an active city maintenance program, said Orange’s problems are moderate and under control.

Motorists should try to steer clear of heavily damaged areas, advised Jeffrey Spring of the Automobile Club of Southern California.

But if you hit a big one anyway and “the steering feels differently than before” or your vehicle is pulling to one side, “have a mechanic check it out,” he suggested.

Researcher Dan Sullivan contributed to this article.

Rough Roads Ahead

Hundreds of potholes have in Orange County because of recent storms. They can form in just a few hours after asphalt roads have been drenched. Road crews are out in force filling them, while unlucky drivers who have run into potholes are having their mechanics make repairs.

The Making of a Pothole

1) Water under the road: Rain water sinks through cracks in old or weakened asphalt. The water is soaked up by the mixture of rock, gravel and sand that supports the road.

2) Roadbed erodes: Vehicles passing over the road force water through the soggy roadbed, eventually eroding parts of it.

3) Asphalt breaks away: Asphalt sinks into the eroded portions of the roadbed and eventually cracks under the continued impact of vehicle tires. Chunks come loose.

4) Repairs: Holes may initially be patched with “cold” asphalt, which does not require special equipment. Later, a permanent repair is made with hot asphalt and steam-rollers.

Damage to the Car

Potholes sometimes can cause several hundred dollars’ worth of damage to cars. If the steering seems unusual or other problems appear, have the vehicle checked.

Potholes can:

* Flatten a tire

* Bend a wheel

* Ruin wheel alignment

* Damage shock absorbers or suspension struts

* Damage parts under the car, if it “bottoms out”

Sources: County and city public works departments, Auto Club of Southern California and Anaheim Hills Tire

Researched by DANNY SULLIVAN/Los Angeles Times

Plugging Potholes

Here are telephone numbers to call if you spot a pothole that needs filling. All numbers are in the 714 area code except La Habra and Seal Beach. For those two cities, the area code is 310.

City Phone Anaheim 254-6840 Brea 990-7661 Buena Park 562-3655 Costa Mesa 754-5307 Cypress 229-6760 Dana Point 567-6300 Fountain Valley 965-4493 Fullerton 738-6897 Garden Grove 741-5375 Huntington Beach 960-8861 Irvine 724-7600 Laguna Beach 497-0342 Laguna Niguel 643-7000 La Habra 905-9792 Lake Forest 567-6300 La Palma 523-1140 Los Alamitos 826-8670 Mission Viejo 348-2058 Newport Beach 644-3061 Orange 744-5530 Placentia 993-8245 San Clemente 361-8317 San Juan Capistrano 493-1171 Santa Ana 549-6820 Seal Beach 431-2527 Stanton 220-2220 Tustin 544-8890 Villa Park 998-1500 Westminster 898-3311 Yorba Linda 961-7170 Unincorporated areas 567-6300

Researched by JANICE JONES and DALLAS M. JACKSON / Los Angeles Times

Source: Orange County and the cities listed