The Calhoun County Department of Highways had traffic blocked in the North bound lane of Route 16, Millstone, while crews did canopy clearing.
According to the WV DOH website the WV Department of Highways officials have spent the past couple of winters undertaking an aggressive campaign to trim tree canopy above the state’s roadways and ditch along highways as a means of reducing potholes.
Both efforts reduce the amount of standing water on the roads; the main source of potholes.
“Water gets down into the cracks in the road and freezes,” said Travis Knighton, District Engineer for District 1, which includes Boone, Clay, Kanawha, Mason, and Putnam counties.
Water expands when it freezes. This widens the cracks in the road. As water continues to freeze and thaw, the cracks get bigger and bigger until they turn into potholes.
