I Fix

Driving down an Indian road, cool wind against your face, a song in your heart, your spirits floating high…… Ouch! You come down to earth after you dive into a pothole. Curses and bad mouthing the civic agencies and every other possible culprit dampens the spirits during the drive ahead.

So what is a pothole and why does it cause such mood swings?

Wiki to the rescue. Potholes (sometimes called kettle and known in parts of the Western United States as a chuckhole) is a type of disruption in the surface of a roadway where a portion of the road material has broken away, leaving a hole. Most potholes are formed due to fatigue of the pavement surface. As fatigue cracks develop they typically interlock in a pattern known as "alligator cracking". The chunks of pavement between fatigue cracks are worked loose and may eventually be picked out of the surface by continued wheel loads, thus forming a pothole. The formation of potholes is exacerbated by cold temperatures, as water expands when it freezes and puts more stress on cracked pavement. Once a pothole forms, it grows through continued removal of broken chunks of pavement. If a pothole fills with water the growth may be accelerated, as the water 'washes away' loose particles of road surface as vehicles pass. In temperate climates, potholes tend to form most often during spring months when the subgrade is weak due to high moisture content. However, potholes are a frequent occurrence anywhere in the world, including in the tropics.

Potholes can grow to feet in width, though they usually only become a few inches deep, at most. If they become large enough, damage to tires and vehicle suspensions can occur.

If you thought that potholes are the calling card of Indian roads check the pic below.

Wiki says that the city of Los Angeles is known for its potholes like the picture above.

Till last week I cursed every time I hit a pothole and then I came upon this http://pothole.pbwiki.com/

And on Saturday with a team of 30+ professionals (mostly techies) including two women, we filled up around 27 potholes with concrete in Adyar and Besant Nagar. Next time you see a pothole or a problem, stop cursing and see if you can fix it. I tried and today I am proud to say that I am a part of I Fix!

WIP on a pothole in Besant Nagar near St. John's School

Inspecting the last pothole filled for the night at 3 AM near the Cancer hospital Adyar

A job well done, the twigs mark the spot where you may not drive over for atleast a day