Potholes sprang up (or sunk down) on US 460 in Prince Edward County last week like mushrooms after spring rain.

January showers, unlike those of April, bring front-end alignment problems rather than flowers.

And snow? The snowflakes Thursday night were the biggest, by far, I've ever seen in my life. As big as potato chips. I could almost hear them busting more potholes, until someone told me it was thunder.

Last week's rain and snow were brilliant for our groundwater but lousy for highway pavement. If VDOT needs more funding after moving quickly to repair the potholes, the General Assembly can certainly take care of boosting our maintenance funds.

Rapid repair of potholes is vital because the amount of moisture, coupled with freezing temperatures, only makes the problem worse, potholes increasing with dramatic alacrity, as if they actually enjoy their work destroying our roads and putting our vehicles at risk.

More potholes appeared by the day last week and the existing potholes got bigger and deeper.

We want to travel safely to work, not journey to the center of the Earth, though perhaps I exaggerate the depth to which a pothole can grow.

Happily, driving into work on Monday it was clear VDOT had done a lot of filling in the east bound lane and I expect the west bound lane will show the same initiative heading home.

Driving to and from work had become too much like an ever-changing obstacle course. With the Daytona 500 just around next month's bend, NASCAR could have warmed up with the Pothole 500 right here in Prince Edward County last week. No need for restrictor plates, either.

But there are no complaints here about the precipitation. None at all. A week of rain? Who knew, in these parts anyway, that was still possible?

-JKW-