PHOENIX – After another snowstorm earlier this week, Arizona Department of Transportation maintenance crews are patrolling northern Arizona highways to locate and address potholes while they conduct more involved pavement repairs on stretches of Interstate 40 west of Flagstaff.

Crews will lay asphalt over existing pavement to smooth rough sections of I-40 at milepost 86 westbound and milepost 98 eastbound between US 93 and Seligman, as well as between mileposts 170 and 177 eastbound, about 10 miles east of Williams.

In addition, maintenance workers are patrolling the following stretches of highway to locate and fill any potholes:

• I-40 between mileposts 82 and 139, from approximately 10 miles east of US 93 to six miles west of SR 89;
• US 180 between mileposts 215-248, from Flagstaff to 13 miles past Kendrick Park;
• and State Route 89A between mileposts 375-386, from Sedona to a couple miles before the switchbacks.

Potholes can pop up quickly when moisture seeps into and below asphalt, which in northern Arizona can be stressed by the combination of freezing overnight temperatures and daytime thawing. The Flagstaff area usually experiences more than 200 daily freeze-thaw cycles each year. Add heavy traffic, and this stressed pavement can break away.

ADOT has two projects coming later this year along I-40 between Flagstaff and Williams that will add a new layer of pavement in both directions.