Road crews out fixing potholes around Lake Tahoe, a constant issue faced each winter

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The Sierra Nevada has had a pounding this winter, so far, with several feet of snow, and atmospheric rivers spreading snow and rain throughout the Lake Tahoe Basin. While almost none of the storms on their own has been catastrophic or even record-breaking, the constant pounding has taken its toll, and area roads show it.

If you drive in South Lake Tahoe and around the rest of Lake Tahoe, you are very familiar with the large number of potholes that seemed to have popped up everywhere and growing overnight. It's not just a Tahoe problem, but a winter road problem. Experts estimate there are 55 million potholes in the United States each winter.

There are many challenges with driving around potholes as it becomes a game of vehicle dodgeball, but fixing them during the winter is also challenging. Local road crews have been addressing them as weather allows, but all fixes are only temporary until temperatures rise and moisture stops.

Potholes are created when pavement weakens and cracks as water freezes and thaws, over and over. Then add the weight of cars and trucks, and vehicles with chains, and the already weakened roadways become ridden with holes that people half-jokingly say could swallow people and cars. During the process of water expanding and contracting, the crack in the road is widened. The little crack turns into a big hole. The rain before and during snowstorms did not help. it got into the little imperfections of the road. The water froze and thawed over and over again, and the pavement weakened and continued cracking. Add the weight of cars and trucks that passed over the weak spots in the road, pieces of the roadway material weaken. That material broke down. This material gets displaced, creating a pothole.

Lake Tahoe roads see more potholes than those at lower elevations due to the constant melting and freezing and higher use of car chains, but Placerville, Reno, and Carson Valley roads are seeing potholes of their own.

El Dorado County Department of Transportation (DOT), City of South Lake Tahoe Public Works, California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), and Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) are all out on the roads attempting to address the pothole issues on the South Shore.

On Wednesday, Caltrans was on US50 in Meyers using "Perma-Patch," what is known as a "cold patch," a quick fix rather than the preferred "hot mix." The City is using a cold patch on holes as well. DOT has addressed potholes four times already with a cold patch, but it gets beat up quickly once tire chains go over it, and then it pops out and the hole returns. Caltrans will return with a more permanent solution when a pavement rehab project comes along.

There have been flat tires and other vehicle damage attributed to the potholes, so trying to drive around them is the best way to keep cars safe - though that isn't always possible, especially when a large puddle of water is cleverly disguising the pothole. Besides flat tires, cars can end up with problems with alignments and suspensions from hitting potholes.

The City will be addressing the potholes with better fixes once temperatures warm up, perhaps as early as the end of February, if Mother Nature allows. Since that is not the end of winter, more repairs will be needed in Spring.

DOT is going to Sacramento on Thursday to get some hot mix and plans to use it on its roads on Thursday and Friday. As their road crews catch up with snow removal operations they can be freed up to address the potholes, the same as other agencies.

Caltrans is responsible for US50, SR88, and SR89, then the City and County take care of the other roads in their jurisdiction.