Potholes in Muncie Roads

In Muncie, residents are concerned about their vehicles during the rough weather conditions. A resident expressed concern on the potholes throughout the city, and discussed the damage done to their car. “I was on my way to the grocery store, and I almost lost control of my car due to driving over a pothole I was unaware of.” Road conditions have suffered in Muncie: causing car accidents, reported claims and expensive repairs. Secretary Elaine Chao, of the Department of Transportation says, “Safety is a priority and we are always working to come up with better ideas to innovate construction techniques to enhance the durability of the roadways.”  Buses, taxi cabs and daily driver’s are forced to cruise a different route to avoid familiar locations of where the potholes are. According to statistics, insurance rates are increasing year after year due to reported claims made by vehicle owners. A member of the Indiana State Highway Department expresses concern on the causes for road destruction, “We are trying our best to repair the holes for every call we receive and we stay busy during the winter season.” Potholes are caused by: heavy vehicle usage, repetitive travel by daily traffic, severe weather conditions such as: snow, ice and heavy rainfall. Every year, residents patiently wait for warmer weather to come for crews to fix the damaged roads.  
According to a commissioner employed for the Public Works Commission, contractors with dump trucks service the street department with specific gravels. Commissioner, Aura Garcia says, “Certain gravel have to be used, including: pea gravel and other grades to enhance the stability and longevity of the repair.” Over a period of time many other contractors can make bids to secure work to create revenue for taxes. Garcia says, “Many truck companies with dump beds, including “owner operators,” can make bids to the city.” The Public Works Commision handles many functions to disburse tax funds to many truck companies. Some bids for repair includes: high rates of pay, coverage for workmen’s compensation and discounts to certain locations of fuel facilities. The bids may also include: truck washes, maintenance services and many other aspects. 
With advancing technologies, a chemical company, Dow Corning are researching many ways to formulate adhesives, fillers, binders and other materials to create new ideas for resisting asphalt failure on the roadways. CEO Robert Hanson states, “Chemical facilities throughout America are joining efforts to formulate better asphalt substances to create durable, longer lasting roadways.” “In this new research we can siginifically lower the costs of funding for repairs and continue to promote traffic safety and establish unqiue ideas to add in our future experiments.”