Watch above: The City of Saskatoon has filled 100,000 potholes so far in 2015 and expects that number to almost double by the end of the season. Amber Rockliffe finds out how crews prioritize what gets filled now versus later.
SASKATOON – City crews have filled about 100,000 potholes so far during this year’s construction season. More than 1,700 tonnes of asphalt has been poured into potholes, enough to fill 14 backyard swimming pools.
Director of public works Pat Hyde said residents are reporting dozens of potholes every week via phone and the city’s online report-a-pothole map.
“So far, 2,250 potholes approximately have been reported through that process, and we have repaired 1,180 of the ones that have been reported,” he explained.
READ MORE: Eight near misses in Saskatoon road construction zones
The city’s pothole repair crews work Monday through Thursday, tackling priority streets first. Hyde said every pothole that’s reported gets inspected, but some are bumped lower on crews’ priority lists because of their size and location.
“A number of those potholes may be the ones that are in the curb lanes, and are not causing a direct impact on the driving lanes, so they’ll get fixed after the fact,” Hyde explained.
The city has also filled 642 utility cuts, an average of 20 cuts each day.
City council approved $3.8 million in funding for pothole repairs this season, a four per cent increase from 2014. Last year, 188,000 potholes were repaired and the city said it’s on track to complete around the same number or higher this year.
Comments