The winter cold has caused many holes in highways. Rijkswaterstaat was busy on Monday to restore them. “A hole-in-the-wall cheese has developed in Brabant due to frost,” says Rijkswaterstaat spokesperson Bart Faber.
The holes are created as follows: water ends up in the asphalt and it freezes. This causes the asphalt to expand, causing cracks to form. That goes from bad to worse. “Those cracks eventually become holes,” says the spokesperson. “And that is dangerous.”
Eleven holes in the highway near Vught
That was the case in several places on Monday. For example, four holes have appeared in the road surface on the A59 near Vlijmen. There are eleven holes on the road near Vught and eight in Boxtel.
These holes must be closed immediately. Faber explains that a milling machine first cuts out the hole properly. It is then brushed and the stones that come loose are removed. Then a new asphalt mixture is added to the hole. “We call that a hot box. It is an asphalt mixture that is transported warm to the highway. It is immediately poured into the hole,” he says.
Repair is an emergency measure
Then it’s just a matter of waiting an hour until it has cooled and dried. Traffic can then return to the road. But the repair is only an emergency measure. “It can last for a while, but eventually it will be included in a major maintenance overhaul.”
Several roads were (partly) closed on Monday due to emergency repairs, including on the A67 in the direction of Venlo. The measures cannot wait until the evening or weekend, the spokesperson says. “The holes that arise can pose a risk to road safety. This must be addressed quickly.”