ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥

In the past year, the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Department of Transportation fixed more than 60,000 potholes, and officials expect more are on the way thanks to the wet winter.

“The freezing temperatures and water certainly doesn’t help when we already have some roadways that are in bad condition,� said Michael Graham, a department spokesman.

When rain or snow seeps into cracks in the pavement, it saturates the underlying layers beneath the road surface. When the moisture freezes, it makes the ground expand, pushing up and breaking the road surface.

Once temperatures rise, the ground contracts but the road is already weakened. Finally, add the weight of motor vehicles on the road as the finishing piece of a pothole recipe.

Graham said pothole-fix requests can come from anywhere on city-owned roads and the department is working to address them.

“At one point it used to be that the focus was roadways that had higher traffic volumes and higher speeds, which would be the arterials and the collectors, but it’s not that way anymore,� Graham said.

Safety hazards get priority

“We’re filling potholes in neighborhoods, arterials, the collectors. Certainly, if a pothole is a safety hazard to the traveling public, whether that be a bicyclist or a motorist, then that pothole is going to receive a higher priority than something that’s smaller.�

During 2019, department crews filled an average of 250 potholes per working day, according to Graham.

He also mentioned it’s the $100 million, voter-approved proposition 409 passed in 2012 that’s allowed for the repavement of 1,100 miles of roads. It’s prevented the pothole numbers from becoming much worse, said Graham.

More repair crews

Starting Monday, TDOT crews addressing the potholes will be increased from five to nine teams for about two weeks to fix as many as possible.

During the spring, TDOT will fog seal over 60 roads to help “rejuvenate the asphalt� and stave off more potholes, Graham said.

“The key in what we’re doing at the city is focusing on keeping the good roads good and we improved a lot of roadways in the five-year program in Prop. 409,� Graham said.

“We have to come back and do some type of maintenance program on those roadways, which is what we’re doing with the fog seal program.�

County strategy

Meanwhile, the county has its own pothole problems to deal with, noted Robert Lane, manager of the Pima County Department of Transportation’s maintenance and right-of-way management division.

“The number of requests varies largely on the weather and amount of rainfall. Last year was really wet and we saw an increase of several hundred after one storm alone,� Lane said.

He said it takes more time to fulfill repair requests due to the large areas winter storms can affect along portions of the 2,200 miles of roads the county maintains.

“It takes staff longer to clear these simply due to the area encompassed. Winter weather also can lead to larger numbers of potholes because the rain events are longer and water has more opportunity to soak in,� Lane said.

Typically, county crews respond first to higher volume roads, which are completed within a couple of days, depending on the severity and location of the pothole.

“The last years have resulted in large numbers of pothole requests. We have directed our resources to reduce the numbers and respond to higher-volume, higher-speed roads first,� Lane said.

For the lower-volume roadways, crews usually respond within 30 days, but can take up to 90 days depending on the number of repair requests.

During the county’s most recent fiscal year, 3,498 requests were sent in for pothole repairs.

Down the road

Two-day repaving on First Avenue: TDOT crews will be milling and repaving First Avenue north and south of Roger Road and another portion to the north and south of Prince Road.

The two-day work starts Monday, and crews will be in the area from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.

One travel lane will be open in each direction along First Avenue. There are no travel restrictions on Prince Road.

New HAWK pedestrian signal to be installed: The latest High-Intensity Activated Crosswalk for ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ will be installed at the Speedway and Richey Avenue intersection starting Monday.

Two lanes of travel will be open during the construction, which is set to end in February. Crews will be in the area Mondays through Thursdays from 6:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Motorists should expect delays and watch for personnel in the area.