'Adopt-a-Highway', Slovak-style

12/03/2013 / SLOVAKIA

'Adopt-a-Highway', Slovak-style

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Miroslava, a participant in the pothole adoption initiative. Photo sent to Vas.Cas.sk.

On which side of the road do Slovaks drive? Around the holes! Slovaks are handling the daunting challenge of their country’s deteriorating road system with a splash of humour, by “adopting” potholes.

The initiative was launched by a newspaper based in Bratislava, the country’s capital. Readers can now adopt a pothole on any national road, measure it, give it a nickname, and track how the size of the gaping hole in the roadway changes over time. Chances are high that unless the adopter intervenes, the hole will keep getting bigger.

A road near Lake Domasa. Footage posted on YouTube.

The scheme is not dissimilar to the ‘Adopt-a-Highway’ program initiated in the United States, which encourages volunteers to keep a section of highway litter-free.

Slovakia’s shoddy, potholed roads look like Swiss cheese every winter, causing untold headaches for drivers. Many Slovaks agree that this winter, the situation is worse than before. In eastern Slovakia’s Kosice region alone, there are an estimated 37,000m2 of holes on its paved roads. Given that winter is not yet over, this figure may still increase. When water freezes in road cracks it expands and makes the cracks bigger. The process is exacerbated by cars driving over the area and creating vibrations.

Michal, a participant in the pothole initiative, adopted a 5-meter wide pothole. Photo sent to Vas.Cas.sk.

Contributors

Viktória Mirvajová

Tibor Blazko

"The real problem is that we cannot figure out who is responsible for each road"

Viktoria Mirvajova is in charge of the “Your tip” column of the Nový čas newspaper

We chose to launch this column because potholes have been the number one topic in Slovakia since February. If people are angry, it’s because the snow is starting to melt and they are starting to take stock of the damage. When temperatures drop, materials become more fragile and paved roads are further harmed with each passing car. Our readers began to send us pictures and footage of the damage. This gave us the idea for our column, in which we speak jokingly about this exasperating situation and try to get the attention of the officials who could help us.

Photo sent to Vas.Cas.sk

It’s been quite a success, we’ve been receiving funny pictures as well as more glamorous ones, like those of Zuzana (see above), a young woman who looks like a top model and sent us shots of her posing next to her pothole, and then trying to fill it with gravel.

Potholes rarely cause real accidents, but cars inevitably end up with flat tires, lost hubcaps and damaged wheels. It can’t always be seen immediately, but our cars take a big hit.

Lucia, 26, near the city of Zvolen in the centre of Slovakia. Photo sent to Vas.Cas.sk.

The real problem is that we cannot figure out who is responsible for each road: municipalities, regions, or state-owned companies?

We learned recently that repairs had started on particularly problematic roads [Editor’s note: In some of the eastern areas, due to resource constraints, local authorities chose to put up signs to warn of potholes rather than repair them].

Viktória Mirvajová

"The reparations are not technologically up-to-date"

Tibor Blazko is Slovak and blogs for Global Voices. He recently wrote an article about the roads in his country.

Local roads are typically overused, namely by trucks. Furthermore, the repairs, when they do occur, are not technologically up-to-date because just a year later, it’s as if nothing had been done.

Nove Zamky road in Sahy, in the Nitra region in the southwest of the country. Video filmed on February 14, 2013 according to the YouTube user.

Generally, the funds allocated to the road network are insufficient. In fact, in various regions and cities, there is not even enough funding for schools and hospitals. Even in the capital, the budget is twice as small as, for example, Vienna’s, the capital of Austria.

Tibor Blazko