It’s no secret that Mississippi’s roads need some major repair. The wear and tear isn’t from drivers along, the Magnolia state’s rainy season has an impact on them as well.
“I’d say over probably the last 10 years there has not been enough funding available to keep all of our pavement in good condition,” said Executive Director of MDOT Melinda McGrath.
With the most recent heat wave rolling through the state, the streets are taking an even bigger beating. McGrath said since Mississippi is one of the wettest states, all that rain, combined with extreme heat only speeds up the pothole process.
“The life cycle of the pavement is, if you don’t restore it as soon as the cracking begins, which we aren’t able to do anymore, then each cycle of when it rains and gets real hot and the soils shrink and contract then those cracks open up more and more,” said McGrath.
McGrath said that when the rain gets down in the cracks and into the dirt that soil gets wet. This becomes an issue when heavy cars go across this pavement, over these areas, causing the pavement to rut. These ruts then turn into potholes.
“We live in one of the wettest states in the United States and we have received a lot of rain this year and we seeing this process happening now,” said McGrath.
McGrath said it is imperative that road funding is increased so that these vital modes of transportation can be fixed.
