Fixing Potholes in the Banks-Vernonia Trail

By Dave McQuery

On July 6, four club members worked with rangers from the L.L. “Stub” Stewart State Park to fill four potholes on the Banks-Vernonia Trail about 3 miles from Vernonia.  Glenice Naslund, Mike Schulte, Jim Harness, and Dave McQuery continued a 3-year tradition of sending work parties to the BVT.

On July 20, our volunteers were at it again. Dave and Mike assisted rangers Jesus Benevides and Jeremy Williams to excavate and refill three more potholes near the Manning Trailhead. The three potholes required more than 500 pounds of an asphalt preparation called “Cold Patch.” Cold Patch is kind of a misnomer, because lots of heat is involved.

The process of patching a pothole:

• Using a rock saw, cut out an area around the hole so that the edges are clean and strong.  One ranger wields the saw, while one of the volunteers sprays water from a tank in a backpack to cool the saw blade.
• We use big pry bars and shovels to remove the damaged pavement, then shovels and rakes to get down to a substantial underlayment.
• We use boards, held in place by iron stakes, to create a clean edge if the hole is at the edge of the trail.
• We shovel Cold Patch from a 500- or 1,000-lb bag into the hole while another person heats the Cold Patch with a big propane torch to soften it. Others rake and tamp the softened asphalt, filling the hole until the fill material mounds up slightly.
• The big gas powered tamper compacts the asphalt and makes it even with the surrounding pavement.
• We spread sand over the fresh asphalt and tamp that in.

Over the past three summers, we have placed some 30,000 pounds of Cold Patch. In addition, our cash donations paid to repair the approaches to a bridge on the Vernonia side of the trail.  Next time you ride the trail, stop at the second bridge (if you are going north to Vernonia) or the fourth bridge (as you return) and read the plaque that the Park put up to acknowledge our service.

We will have at least two more work dates in August, and, weather permitting, maybe a couple more in September.  We can use your help, and you can learn a new trade!

Next work dates are Aug 17 and Aug 24. Contact Dave McQuery for more information.