A season of potholes to mar any ball joint

To find the divots in its roads, the city of Grand Junction, Colo., has initiated a contest. Residents are encouraged to report places in need of a patch. At first, the city said it would give a prize - a free front-end alignment - to the person reporting the largest pothole. Now, it's a random drawing.

"We had visions of people making them bigger than they already are," says Sam Rainguet, communications and community relations director.

For many, the winter has been a costly experience that they hope someone else will pay for. Mr. Abasciano says he spent $352.50 and has now filed a claim with the city. He's waiting for a reply.

In the East, potholes are frequently caused by a void under the surface of the road. Water seeps into the area and then freezes. Since water expands when frozen, something has to give, and it's usually the pavement.

But even Los Angeles, where the thermometer rarely reads 32 degrees, has seen a rise in potholes and resultant damage. Mr. Pellegrino thinks it's been a combination of near record-setting rain, the state's budget problems, and heavy use of roads.

He says part of the problem is also the way manufacturers are building cars. The rims are larger and the tires are smaller, resulting in a lower profile. "There is less of an air chamber to absorb a violent hit," he says.

In addition, he says cars no longer use frames but are all one body. "Actually, the alignment moves in and out as the vehicle goes over speed bumps, expansion joints, and potholes."

The new body types make it more difficult to keep the car in alignment, says Pellegrino, who recently invented an award-winning alignment adapter for the new wheels and tires.

Potholes have been the mother of invention in other instances. Recently, a high school robotics team in Agawam, Mass. (some residents call it the birthplace of the pothole), was trying to come up with an idea to submit for a grant to the Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams, which encourages students to solve a problem through invention. As ideas were tossed around, John Burns, the high school adviser, said he had to leave to pick up his wife's Ford Taurus, which was being repaired after hitting a 10-inch deep pothole. Someone else said their car was also in the shop. "Another kid said, 'Let's just fix potholes,' " says Mr. Burns.

The robotics team then designed a machine that uses ground-penetrating radar to locate potential potholes and then fill them with an epoxy. The school now has a provisional patent on the device.

• Robert Tuttle contributed to this report.

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