COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -

Potholes aren't just causing trouble on streets, roads and highways. They're also popping up in business parking lots and driveways.

John Davis, owner of Davis Paving & Sealcoating, said he has hired five people to man a crew that focuses solely on pothole repair.

"We're trying to catch up, and we're going to be patching for a long time," he said. "Our backlog right now, just for patching, is to June 1."

A particularly large pothole is in a driveway between the Sonic and Texas Roadhouse restaurants along Eighth Street. It raises a question: Who is responsible for vehicle damage or personal injury from a pothole in a common area?

"General liability will take care of that, with the entity that owns the (nearest) business," Davis said. "And we're seeing more damage and injury. That's why businesses call us, before it gets to that point. All the business comes at once, that's the bad thing about it. But devoting a crew to potholes allows us to keep up with the rest of our paving business."

Davis said he's also seeing more potholes on concrete pavement, which costs three times more than asphalt pavement to repair.

One reason potholes have become more frequent, Davis said, is that they often are not repaired properly the first time.

"You can't just fill them and pat them down," he said. "I see that a lot. You have to cut around them and patch them. It takes longer, but you do a better job. In some places, they just fill and go because they have so many potholes. By doing it the right way, we can guarantee a repair will last two years."

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Potholes on private property producing problems

By Long Hwa-shu For Sun-Times Media March 31, 2014 7:12PM

Sister Marie Therese of St. Roger Abbey French Style Gourmet Patisserie talks to an Antioch resident about the fresh baked tarts and croissants for sale at the Spring Expo in Lake Villa. | Tina Johansson/For Sun-Times Media

storyidforme: 64259839 tmspicid: 23041680 fileheaderid: 11198715

Updated: April 1, 2014 2:34AM

With the sun shining Saturday, people showed up in droves to the 11th annul SpringFest in Lake Villa as if to cast off spring fever and renew themselves.

The two-day show, sponsored by the Lindenhurst-Lake Villa Chamber of Commerce, had nearly everything for the rite of spring: house cleaning, maybe a new furnace after the old one had all but conked out, patching up a pock-marked driveway or getting it repaved, and perhaps a home equity line of credit to pay for home improvements.

This is a great community event. It brings people out, said Connie Meadie, executive director of the 240-member chamber of commerce.

We have 83 exhibitors this year. They offer to help whatever people want to do, she added, expressing hope this years attendance record would exceed last years 3,000.

Lakes Community High School in Lake Villa, where the show was held, was jammed with people Saturday. The mood was upbeat and people were smiling. Not just for adults, the show had children in mind by entertaining them with balloon-making, stilt-walking and face painting, among others. A Sunday highlight was the all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast sponsored by the Lions Club.

Its so good, so delicious, said an appreciative Ron Waltz as he sampled candies from Peters Amish Chocolate of Wilmot, Wis.

Continued here:
Spring weather draws crowd to Chambers annual expo

PRINCESS ANNE, Md.- The Maryland State Highway Administration says single lane closures are likely as crews resurface a 1.6 mile section of MD 675 (Somerset Avenue) in Princess Anne.

The $260,000 resurfacing project begins Tuesday, April 1. It is scheduled to be complete by mid-April, weather permitting.

The milling work followed by paving will start at the southern limit of MD 675 where the highway merges with US 13 and continue northward to Broad Street. The project is part of an areawide contract awarded to American Infrastructure, Inc. of Fallston.

Motorists should expect single lane closures Mondays through Fridays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. THE SHA said this type of construction can also be noisy and disruptive. Crews will use cones and barrels together with a flagging operation to guide traffic through the work zone. They will also maintain driveway and parking access during construction.

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SHA to Resurface Major Street in Princess Anne

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BLINDED BY THE MEDIAN BRUSH ON ALAMEDA: Epi Gurule called to say its tough trying to get out of his driveway on Alameda, between Guadalupe Trails north and south, because the median is so overgrown and blocks sightlines.

Its quite dangerous and been that way for quite awhile, he said.

David Mitchell, the head of Bernalillo Countys Operations and Maintenance Department, says new medians are coming after the Paseo del Norte rebuild is completed. But until then, the county is planning some spring cleaning, dropping only non-peak traffic lanes.

In fact, crews found three plants in the formal sight triangle at this intersection, with branches encroaching into the triangle. Our road supervisor went a little further and made nice popsicle trees out of a number of them in that area until after PDN is over and Parks can go in and extend the tidier and mostly treeless landscaping started near Fourth and extend it west.

That work will be done on a legislative grant that will require traffic control and lane drops on Alameda to build, which are not allowed at present during PDN construction.

Also in the meantime, the countys Parks Department has sprayed pre-emergents where possible to keep weeds from coming up this spring, but normal inmate and other intensive cleaning labor also need lane drops and barricading for worker safety. Either way, beautification of the median will mostly wait for PDN.

These photos show the before and after views in reference to median landscaping trimming on Alameda near Guadalupe Trail. (Courtesy of Bernalillo County)

TROUBLE SEEING THE NEW US 550/I-25: Judith Turner emails that heading either north or south onto Interstate 25 from the new highway 550 project in Bernalillo, the white lines are very difficult to see, both during the day and at night. Do you know if this problem will be remedied soon before there is a tragic accident?

Yes.

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Stripes touch-up set for Highway 550 at I-25

By Nicole Tuttle Voice Reporter

A message from the Macomb County Department of Roads was recently posted on the Macomb Township website, warning drivers to beware of ruts in thawing gravel roads and water back-up in open ditches, driveway culverts and cross roadway culverts.

Macomb Township has experienced the snowiest winter in 104 years and the coldest in 35 years, the posted message read. The Macomb County Department or Roads has indicated that the frost has reached a depth of 48 inches. This will create two areas of concern for roadways in the area.

Gravel roads thawing out after a cold winter can become soft, rutty and sometimes impassable, according to the notice. The notice also indicates that open ditches, driveway culverts and cross roadway culverts are frozen and can cause water back-up that flows over roads and driveways until they thaw.

Hoepfner said that he sent an e-mail with the gravel road and culvert information to all township supervisors several weeks ago.

We warn them that we know it is going to happen, and we are doing all we can to make repairs and corrections as they occur, Hoepfner said.

Hoepfner said that the department of roads is aware that 24 Mile and Luchtman roads in Macomb Township are presently rough.

Macomb Township Clerk Michael Koehs said that the area between Foss and Romeo Plank on 24 Mile Road is one area to be particularly careful of as the frost departs.

It creates conditions that make it really sloppy and bumpy Anytime you are on a gravel road this time of year, you need to use caution, Koehs said.

The Macomb County Department of Roads 2014 Construction Program schedule lists 24 Mile Road east of Romeo Plank to Foss as scheduled for paving at a total cost of about $1.1 million. The listed estimated start date is August 2014 with an estimated completion date of November 2014. Continued...

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Gravel roads, frozen culverts create concerns, county says

Missouri Department of Transportation crews are close to finishing replacing culvert pipes along the first half of the Highway A improvement project.

Judy Wagner, MoDOT area engineer, said there are two more culvert pipes to be replaced along the section between Union and Highway YY at Krakow.

After that we will try to begin culvert replacement work from Krakow to Washington, Wagner said. There are seven pipes along that section.

The work involves closing both lanes of the highway at points where culvert pipes under the highway are excavated and replaced with new pipes.

Motorists need to plan on making detours, as crews will be completely closing the highway where work is being done.

MoDOT encourages drivers to use Highway 47 as an alternate route during this preliminary construction work.

Meanwhile, N.B. West Contracting Company, the contractor, has started preliminary work on the improvement project.

Wagner said the contractor plans to begin work next week on replacing driveway culverts and ditch work starting at Union and heading north.

Wagner anticipates that it will take two construction seasons to complete improvements along the 7.2-mile stretch of highway.

The first segment, from Union, just north of the Independence Drive intersection, to Highway YY at Krakow is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year.

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MoDOT Almost Done Replacing Culverts on First Part of Route A

Published: Monday, March 24, 2014 at 1:00 a.m. Last Modified: Sunday, March 23, 2014 at 12:41 p.m.

Drivers in Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties are advised to use caution in the following areas where the Florida Department of Transportation says road construction or other projects are underway:

Crews are widening Interstate 75 north of the Sumter Boulevard interchange in North Port.

SARASOTA COUNTY

Interstate 75 from Sumter Boulevard in North Port to River Road. Crews widening the highway to six lanes. Expect lane closures from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.

I-75 from University Parkway to the Charlotte County line. Expect delays. Crews are installing closed-circuit cameras, roadside sensors and other equipment for an intelligent transportation system.

I-75 at Fruitville Road, Laurel Road, Jacaranda Road and Sumter Boulevard. Crews replacing overhead signs. Lane closures between 10:30 p.m. and 6 a.m.

I-75 at Jacaranda Boulevard and Laurel Road. Crews installing lights. No lane closures expected.

U.S. 41 between Shamrock Boulevard and the Lowes entrance in Venice. Southbound outside lane closed from 9 p.m. Fridday to 5:30 a.m. Saturday while crews construct a new driveway.

Fruitville Road from McIntosh Road to Honore Avenue. Intermittent outside lane closures from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. while crews inspect and repair drainage.

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TRAFFIC ADVISORY: Watch for road crews, closed lanes

PAWTUCKET, R.I. -

About a mile of new pavement on Broadway in Pawtucket is coming under some scrutiny by at least one resident.

The old pavement blends into new pavement at the corner of East Street and Broadway. Cars and truck traveled smoothly over this busy stretch of road Friday, but at least one man said the paving work was poorly done.

"I think any homeowner would be upset if it was their own driveway," Ted Lewandowski said.

NBC 10 took his concern to the Pawtucket Department of Public Works, which has been watching the stretch of road since it was paved in November.

"What we've seen out there is minor in nature and nothing that wasn't expected," said Lance Hill of the Pawtucket DPW.

But not good enough, said Lewandowski.

"It was paved in three sections. So what's happening is, it's cracking where the vehicle traffic is going. So, the cars are actually going over the cracks and trucks, obviously, and it's a federal highway," Lewandowski said.

The seams from the three paving lanes are visible. The DPW said that is normal on roads of this width. The city got started on this paving project unusually late in the year, but it said it's coming along just fine.

"We'll come back through after we do some painting on it, do a final inspection, do some crack sealing, and it will be ready to go," Hill said.

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Resident unhappy with Pawtucket's paving job - News, Weather and Classifieds for Southern New England

Published: Saturday, March 22, 2014, 6:12p.m. Updated 17 hours ago

Winter finally has faded into spring technically, at least but the unrelenting cold of the past few months has left scars on many driveways and other outdoor hard surfaces.

If cracks and uneven surfaces are visible, don't expect the problem to go away.

If you see something now, it will never get better, said Peter Morelli of Bruno Morelli Concrete in Gibsonia.

T. Carter Ross, a spokesman for the National Asphalt Pavement Association, agreed, noting that the secret to dealing with asphalt and concrete problems is maintenance.

Hints of problems a small crack, an area in the driveway that holds water instead of letting it drain into dirt around it can be corrected, pavement contractors say.

Ryan Longaway of Asturi Contracting in Monroeville said those issues can sometimes be addressed with French drains, which are less-expensive solution than ripping up all or sections of driveways.

Driveways with small cracks can be patched and sealed, said Tim Breyer from T&H Paving in Greensburg. But larger cracks have made a route into the substrata below. The crack is a place where the freeze-thaw cycle can lead to more damage.

You can only go so far with sealing, he said. If it looks good, sealing is fine, but you might need to do more work.

Morelli said a critical issue in concrete installation is the proper use of reinforcement bars better known as rebar and wire mesh under the concrete. The bars hold slabs together while the mesh helps to provide an even surface below them.

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Maintenance the secret to dealing with asphalt, concrete problems, contractors say

The state has yanked a New Britain contractor's license for overcharging five customers, including an elderly woman, more than $30,000 for shoddy, incomplete or unwanted driveway paving and for lying on his license application, authorities say.

The state Department of Consumer Protection said Thursday it revoked the home-improvement registration for Brian S. Curylo, doing business as Hot Top Paving.

The agency also said it ordered Curylo to repay the five customers the $30,990 he defrauded from them, plus $5,750 more in civil penalties.

According to state investigators, the action stemmed from numerous complaints the agency received beginning last March about paving jobs that were unfinished, overpriced or of inferior quality. In one case, Hot Top workers even began excavating an existing driveway despite being told immediately beforehand that no driveway work was wanted at that time, investigators said.

The agency said it investigated and last October leveled an administrative complaint against Curylo, charging him violating the state's home-improvement and unfair trade practices statutes.

In a separate case, Curylo charged a 68-year-old woman $6,450 for an inferior paving job on her driveway, then returned uninvited over three more days in less than two weeks to do more work on the same driveway, the state said. He then handed her three more bills, which she immediately paid.

In all, he billed the woman $21,050 for work that a different contractor later had to be called in to do the job right for less than $4,000, the state said.

Investigators found other complaints against Curylo for not completing work for which he was contracted and paid for, nor did he respond to his customers' requests for a refund.

The state also said it discovered Curylo lied on his home-improvement contractor's license about a 2004 felony conviction for third-degree larceny. That alone was grounds to revoke his license, the state said.

Curylo couldn't be located Thursday for comment. A message on Hot Top's phone line wasn't immediately returned.

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CT steamrolls N. Britain paving contractor