Freeze-Thaw Cycles, Potholes, and the Winter of 1977–78

Abstract

The winter of 1977?78 may truly be called the ?winter of the pothole? because so many of them pockmarked the roads in the northeast quadrant of the United States. A major reason given for this deterioration of the roads was the large number of freeze-thaw cycles. An examination of the frequency of freeze-thaw cycles during the past 18 winters revealed that the winter of 1977?78 actually had the smallest number of cycles. The formation of potholes, the relationship between the frequency of cycles at several elevations and depths, and the statistical characteristics of a time series of winter freeze-thaw cycles are discussed.