POTHOLES: - CSIR

3.2 ManagementFor effective management and control ofpotholes, particularly during the wet, rainyseason when large potholes can form literallyovernight and a rapid response is necessary,it is essential that a coordinated reportingsystem be implemented.Probably the most effective system is the onecurrently in use by the South African NationalRoads Agency Ltd (SANRAL), making useof appropriate notice or sign boards with atelephone number that is operational 24/7.This does, however, require that the public ismade aware of the system and has confidencethat reports will be responded to timeously. Italso requires trained stand-by maintenancecrews to repair potholes immediately afterinformation has reached the specific roadauthority.A more arduous and costly system wouldnormally involve regular inspections bysuitably-trained staff of the road authority,particularly during and after periods of heavyor prolonged rainfall. The assessor should beable to classify the nature and cause of thepothole on site and make a recommendation(using Table 1) as to how it should be repaired.For effective repairs of potholes, it is essentialthat the correct resources are readily available.Equipment such as picks and shovels,compactors, a diamond-saw for cutting ofsurfacing, drums of bitumen emulsion andpockets of approved cold-mix asphalt (asdiscussed in section 4.4.1) must be readilyavailable to the repair teams. A range ofappropriate compaction equipment (handrammers, small plate compactors and/orpedestrian rollers, as necessary) should alsobe available.Appendix A provides a standard form forthe field assessment of pothole types andrecommendations of the repair actions. Thiscan be used by field evaluators to assess eachof the parameters necessary for the decisionprocess for pothole repair required in Table 1.26