City pledges to fight potholes

The City of Pittsburgh has launched a campaign against drivers’ worst enemy:… The City of Pittsburgh has launched a campaign against drivers’ worst enemy: potholes.

When this winter’s record-breaking snowfall melted, the water ran into the pavement, creating even more potholes than usual. Julie Vandenbossche, a Pitt professor of civil and environmental engineering, said that Pittsburgh is more prone to potholes than other cities in warmer regions.

Since 2006, Oakland has issued 436 requests for pothole repairs, Pittsburgh Public Works director Rob Kaczorowski said. Some areas, such as Shadyside, have only reported two pothole complaints — while other neighborhoods, such as Brookline, have reported 639.

The range in the amount of potholes reported in each neighborhood depends upon the amount of traffic flow in the area and the age of the pavement, he said. The total number of complaints received for potholes in the city of Pittsburgh has climbed to 12,983 in the past four years.

Kaczorowski said he doesn’t know the number of pothole-repair requests the city has received or how many potholes the city filled this year.

The city of Pittsburgh maintains about 1,800 miles of road, Kaczorowski said. The only road that Pitt is responsible for maintaining is University Drive, Pitt spokesman John Fedele said. The city’s six maintenance divisions are responsible for handling the pothole-patching requests that are received in their areas.

As the pavement ages, the asphalt will fatigue under the weight of vehicles.

“This is called fatigue, or alligator cracking” Vandenbossche said, “because the cracking has a similar pattern to that of an alligator’s back.”

In the spring, as water seeps through the fatigued surface, the underlying granular layers of the pavement soften and additional cracking occurs on the surface. The force from tires causes pieces to break lose. When these pieces come out, it opens up a larger area of the pavement surface and exacerbates the situation, thus forming a pothole, Vandenbossche said.

The city installs roadway gutters and asphalt curbs along the sides of the road to help water drain off the pavement before it seeps beneath the surface. During the summer months, maintenance crews use a hot asphalt mix to patch the potholes. But in the winter, a cold patch is used instead, since a hot asphalt mix cannot be made. The city is still using cold patches as the weather warms up.

There is no minimum depth for a pothole that needs to be repaired by hot asphalt mix in the summer, Kaczorowski said. However, for cold patch repairs, Pittsburgh Public Works asks for potholes to be two to three inches deep before they’re filled.

The City of Pittsburgh spends about $2,000 to $3,000 per year repairing potholes. The cost per pothole fluctuates as it depends on the depth of the pothole, the amount of traffic riding over it and the time needed to fix it. Filling a single pothole can cost anywhere from $20 to $200, Kaczorowski said.

Potholes cause major concern among drivers.

Bradley Lyons, a chemical engineering sophomore at Pitt, can attest to the damage potholes can cause. While driving around Pittsburgh, Bradley ran over a deep pothole, causing a small rock to fly up and crack his windshield.

While people might think the state is responsible for damage caused by a pothole, the Allegheny Bar Association website says it’s not that easy. A person cannot be reimbursed for property damages that occur on a state road. They can make a claim for personal injuries, but they must show that the state knew about the pothole, had a reasonable amount of time to fix it and didn’t, the website says.

In regard to local roads, a person can sue for property damage due to a pothole — but since the damages will be covered by insurance, the insurance deductible will probably be the only money the driver receives, according to the website.

While it is difficult to eliminate potholes with limited financial resources, proper maintenance to reduce the number of fatigue cracks on roadways would help, Vandenbossche said.

“Keeping your network of pavements maintained and the cracks sealed will go a long way in preventing potholes,” said Vandenbossche.

To report potholes, residents of Pittsburgh can either visit pittsburghpothole.com or call the 311 information line or (412) 255-CITY (2489). The City should respond to the pothole within five days.