PennDOT Crews Working To Repair Potholes
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - The weather is warming up and that means more potholes are popping up.
As a result, PennDOT crews are in for a busy few days.
With all the freezing and thawing we've had this season, there are more potholes than ever.
In fact, as of this morning, the PennDOT hotline (1-800-FIX-ROAD) has received 174 pothole complaints for Allegheny County alone.
Last winter, that number was drastically lower.
"That's compared to only 42 complaints last year, so we've quadrupled the number of pothole complaints," Steve Cowan with PennDOT said.
With a break from the bitter cold, snow, and ice, PennDOT crews spent the day working to patch some of the potholes.
They tackled a stretch of Route 51 between Stanhope Street and the West End Circle in the City of Pittsburgh.
"We wanted to take advantage of the good weather to go out and repair the magnitude of potholes out there," Cowan said.
PennDOT is focusing a lot of attention on this particular area not only because the potholes are bad, but also because of the construction. A stretch of West Carson Street is down to one lane, so drivers don't have a lot of room to avoid the potholes.
"We want to make sure that motorists are safe, that they don't have to swerve to avoid a pothole because that is a very narrow area," Cowan said.
The work created delays and at points, stopped traffic altogether.
That won't be the last of the inconvenience for drivers because crews are using cold patch, which is a temporary fix.
They will eventually have to repatch using asphalt.
"Many of these pothole repair crews will be moving slowly on area roadways, so we just want to make sure they are safe, as well as the motorists," Cowan said.
You can report a pothole to PennDOT by calling 1-800-FIX-ROAD or if you see a pothole in the city, dial 311.
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