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Why did one day of rain lead to a huge pothole problem on I-4?

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Last Sunday brought as much as rain as Orlando usually sees during the entire month of January.

In the following days, a large pothole opened up on I-4 westbound near Conroy Road. It was Wednesday evening before the pothole was filled in and the road was smooth again.

So why would such a large pothole open if Florida doesn't see the freeze, thaw, freeze, thaw pattern that our friends to the north endure?

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"I wanted to dig a little deeper," said Eyewitness News Meterologist Kassandra Crimi. "For those 48 hours we had over two inches of rainfall and excess of almost two and a half inches."

Engineering Geologist David Wilshaw told Channel 9 that dirt construction zones can jeopardize the stability of the road underneath.

"You've got an accumulation of water underneath and it been able to find a path. That water quickly flows through it and saturates the limestone, causing the limestone to disintegrate and lose its strength," said Wilshaw. "Then it becomes like a boiled potato once you add traffic on it, and the asphalt is not properly supported so it cracks."

Christian Hendricks is still in awe over the impact of the pothole. She was stuck with a $150 bill after the pothole blew out her tire on I-4 near the Mall of Millenia.

"It almost felt like I had been rear-ended essentially," said Hendricks. "It felt like my whole car shook."

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