Editing Pothole (section)

{{Short description|Area of depressed road surface}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
<!---{{See also|Kettle (landform)|Giant's kettle}}--->
[[File:Potholes - at the junction of Philip Lane N15 and Mount Pleasant Road N17.jpg|thumb|300px|Potholes occur with traffic over a roadway that has been weakened by water in the supporting soil structure.]]
A '''pothole''' is a pot-shaped depression in a [[road surface]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-07-30 |title=Definition of POTHOLE |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pothole |access-date=2024-08-07 |website=www.merriam-webster.com |language=en}}</ref> usually [[asphalt pavement]], where traffic has removed broken pieces of the pavement. It is usually the result of water in the underlying soil structure and traffic passing over the affected area. Water first weakens the underlying soil; traffic then fatigues and breaks the poorly supported asphalt surface in the affected area. Continued traffic action ejects both asphalt and the underlying soil material to create a hole in the pavement.<ref name="FHWA" />