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."
I-4 POTHOLE PROBLEMS: @KCrimiWFTV demonstrates how easy it is for rain to cause potholes on I-4 during construction https://t.co/n1ygMs2rGm pic.twitter.com/1dQSpq9iTl
— WFTV Channel 9 (@WFTV) February 1, 2019
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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#BREAKING: The ride home on I-4 Westbound near Conroy Road is already off to a slow start because crews are working to repair a pothole that's been slowing down traffic for days. UPDATES: https://t.co/x5OiWeT7DS pic.twitter.com/vI7SRqGUAT
— WFTV Channel 9 (@WFTV) January 30, 2019
#TrafficAlert: Two lanes squeeze by emergency repair work to fix a large pothole on I-4 WB near Conroy Road. LIVE updates: https://t.co/x5OiWeT7DS 📸: @RAsaWFTV pic.twitter.com/CMQvNxvfAs
— WFTV Channel 9 (@WFTV) January 30, 2019
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