Potholes plague Chualar in wake of heavy rain

There has been an increase in potholes on Chualar streets due to heavy rain earlier this week. With more rain expected over the weekend, drivers could see an increase in those potholes.

A pothole is formed when water seeps into the ground and softens the pavement. The surface caves in, causing a pothole. Sometimes, if it’s cold enough, the water freezes and expands underground, creating more cracks. 

Pacific Motor Service Manager Rory Parham said that he noticed car damage due to potholes is definitely more common here in the winter months.

“You know, people try to get the most life out of their tires, and in dry weather you can make a tire go longer,” Parham said. “But, as soon as a tire is at the wear marks, that’s going to be, you know, the slippage and hydroplaning. You know, it’s going to be much larger danger in wet weather than in dry weather.”

Parham also said that potholes can puncture a tire. But it’s not like what happens when you run over a nail and the object stays in the tire, slowing the deflation. Instead, the tire gets punctured, the air escapes, and then it goes flat much more quickly.

Cars with thinner tires are especially at risk. They are generally common in modern luxury vehicles.

“Then, there’s not a lot of rubber between the ground and that wheel. You impact a larger pothole at speed...the likelihood of doing damage to that wheel...bending it or cracking it, something like that, is much higher. Repair cost is going to be a lot more.”

KION reached out to County Public Works about their plans and has yet to hear back.