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City Crews Plan Pothole Blitz Before Rain Returns Wednesday

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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The Department of Public Works plans to work around the clock for the next day and a half to patch as many potholes as they can before rain returns.

The Office of the Mayor says that crews will begin cold-patching potholes at 10 p.m. Monday and work nonstop through Wednesday afternoon, when rain is expected to resume.

The cold-patch asphalt can only be applied in dry weather, as rain or snow causes the asphalt to become dislodged if there's precipitation in the pothole when it's patched.

The record-cold temperatures in January and subsequent freeze-thaw cycles have caused a particularly bad pothole season.

According to the Office of the Mayor, there have been nearly 4,000 pothole requests sent to the city's 311 Response Center in the past six weeks. Over the same time period last year, there were only 1,240 potholes requests.

Additionally, there have been more than 5,000 pothole requests since October 2017 versus 2,271 requests between October 2016 and February 2017.

The Office of the Mayor says the city's 2018-2023 Capital Improvement Plan includes $103 million for street resurfacing, with $16 million allocated in 2018.

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