Associated Press
COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho transportation officials put together a $450,000 emergency repair project when pavement on Interstate 90 broke apart this winter.
The transportation department says people’s lives were at stake when a midwinter thaw caused potholes to open up on I-90 through Coeur d’Alene, reported The Spokesman-Review (http://bit.ly/2jUt229 ). The department patched the cracks during two nights in late January.
An extra thick bonding agent was used to help seal the asphalt patches.
The pavement failure occurred in the more heavily traveled right lanes in both directions, according to Mike Lenz of the Idaho Transportation Department. He said moisture left in the pavement after a wet fall and a hard freeze caused it to fail as soon as conditions thawed out.
Hitting potholes at highway speeds is dangerous and “the safety of the public is our No. 1 concern,” said Lenz.
Interstate Concrete & Asphalt of Rathdrum was hired for the emergency contract work. Lenz said no bids were sought because the job had to be done quickly.
