Frequently Asked Questions

Just what is Pothole Terminator?

Pothole Terminator is a way of binding crushed stone aggregates together into a load bearing cellular building unit. The Pothole Terminator unit can support compressive loads and resist lateral soil pressure. It is basically a compressive material. Pothole Terminator confines the stone within a Pothole Terminator, stay-in-place, cylinder. This tire-derived-cylinder performs functions similar to the cement / water mixture, the rebar and the formwork in hydraulic cement concrete. It actually improves the load bearing capacity of the aggregate material be it sand, stone or sandy clay.

What is a Pothole Terminator cylinder?

A Pothole Terminator cylinder is a thin-walled cylinder. It can be designed and made from any suitable material of adequate size and tensile strength to resist the lateral pressure generated when the crushed stone is placed under load. This lateral pressure can be calculated using established engineering formulae. It is the tensile strength of the Pothole Terminator cylinder that generally defines the overall strength of Pothole Terminator and not the crushed stone. A Pothole Terminator thin-walled, cylinder can be made of single material or of composite materials. For example, the cylinder can be made of steel or plastic. The preferred cylinder is made from a recycled auto or truck tire with both sidewalls removed. The tire-tread cylinder is no longer a tire but through remanufacturing becomes a tire-derived-cylinder, TDC.

What kind of costs on maintenance and vehicle operation per driver is caused from potholes?

A new study from TRIP, a national transportation research group, estimates that the average American driver spends $523 on extra maintenance and vehicle operation each year due to potholes and road cracks. In cities where the majority of roads are rated as sub-standard or poor, residents may be paying nearly double the national average — $1,025 a year. With Pothole Terminator by Mechanical Concrete®, your roads will cause less damage to cars because of potholes and poor roads. that means less money spent on car repair, and less angry phone calls from frustrated drivers.

Who should be interested in aquiring a Pothole Terminator license?

Engineers and representatives for your municipalities or anyone responsible for maintainign public and private roadways.

Have any public roads agencies approved Pothole Terminator for use?

Yes, the West Virginia Division of Highways, Materials Division has approved Pothole Terminator. A copy of the approval letter is available by clicking here.

What is the preferred stone gradation?

AASHTO # 57 is the recommended gradation for most uses. Other larger, same-size stone gradations, i.e. AASHTO #3, may be used depending on the application

How much stone is consumed by Pothole Terminator?

Tire-derived-cylinders widths vary. For an 8 inch wide cylinder a 12 foot wide lane mile uses approximately 2300 tons. That’s approximately 290 tons per inch of thickness at a stone density of 110 lbs. /cf.

What is the load capacity of a Pothole Terminator cell?

The tire-derived-cylinders are used at maximum operating pressures of approximately 45psi plus a design factor. When used at low pressures as in Pothole Terminator, i.e. around 12 psi for an AASHTO Truck Wheel Loading, it can be used effectively and economically in nearly all construction, on-road or off-road applications for a maximum wheel loading of 50,000lbs. The results of Pothole Terminator 50,000 lbs. column lab load tests are available on this website.
This basically means that the Pothole Terminator process improves the load carrying capacity of the earthen materials that make up a road. In fact it more than triples the usual maximum load carrying capacity of sandy, granular, and graded stone materials.

Why do recycled vehicle tires work as a Pothole Terminator cylinder?

Tires treads which interface with the roadway have a composite structure of woven steel belts and polyester chord reinforcing, all of which is embedded in a rubber matrix. Auto tires are designed to withstand road hazards and operate at a maximum air pressure of approximately 44 psi. And on top of this manufactured products usually have a design factor for an ultimate stress. Because of these engineering material characteristics the tire-tread cylinder has the necessary circumferential tensile strength to support the lateral pressures generated in the aggregate material by civil engineering dead and live loads.

How green is Pothole Terminator?

Pothole Terminator is one of the first green construction products to be highly durable, technically appropriate and economical as well as green and sustainable. This is because it actually reuses a manufactured product. Its use reduces greenhouse gases, reduces construction site energy consumption, reuses manufactured materials, improves air and water quality, reduces cement use with a pound for pound reduction in greenhouse gases, and generates no construction material single-use waste. Further green information may be requested at
Pothole Terminator as with most new technology can be expected to achieve even greater efficiencies as it continues to develop.