The state of infrastructure across the U.S. is rather dismal. Often, cities look to temporary methods of fixing roads marred by potholes with either a cold or hot fill mix, but those solutions are hardly permanent. After water seeps in, the pothole can resurface in sometimes as few as a couple of days.
That's where American Road Patch comes in. The company has developed a neat solution to help make pothole filling more of a long-term solution. In the video above, the company explains how its product works. Cities still fill the pothole with an asphalt mix, but the Road Patch is then laid over the repaired pothole. The company claims the patch provides a water-resistant seal that keeps the pothole filled longer—as in, up to 10 years longer.
Granted, this isn't a total fix for crumbling roads, which likely need to be gutted and completely repaved. However, ensuring a pothole doesn't come back in a few days or a year is better than nothing.
As for installation, it's pretty straightforward. A crew fills the pothole like usual, then lays the Road Patch over the hole upside down, removes its adhesive, flips it over and stamps it to the asphalt or concrete surface. The Road Patch has an adhesive on its back, and it looks like an enlarged roof shingle of sorts. In temperatures of 70 degrees or below, crews heat the area to ensure the adhesive takes to the road.
The product has been testing in Alabama for at least a year now, which isn't as harsh of an environment as northern states like Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and the Northeast. However, the company is ready to distribute Road Patch throughout the U.S. and Canada. Perhaps you'll see a band-aid on local roads soon.