BY JOSEPH MORTON
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
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Potholes' second hit is in wallet
Omaha street maintenance workers are fighting two opponents these days - potholes and time.
Crews were reacting to potholes on major streets quickly last week, but it wasn't long before some holes had slipped back into disrepair or spawned new trouble spots.
A crew fills potholes on Sorensen Parkway recently.
Mayor Mike Fahey announced Wednesday that the city would repair potholes within two business days of being notified of them.
World-Herald staff members reported eight potholes to the city Wednesday evening and then rechecked those holes two days later.
Crews hit at least seven of the eight holes by the end of the week, within the promised time period.
It appeared crews had missed one deep pothole, on Center Street near 52nd Street. The hole in the curb lane was filled with water from melting snow.
Public Works Director Norm Jackman said city workers likely attempted to fix the hole on Center Street, but water and traffic may have foiled the effort.
Of the seven potholes that had been worked on, several were only partially filled when checked Saturday morning.
Jackman said vehicles kick material out of the holes and workers must return to refill them.
"We could put material in one day, and the next it'll be knocked out," Jackman said. "If it's midday, right before rush hour, they may not last as long. That's just the way it goes in pothole filling."
Curb lanes are especially hard hit because that's where water from melting snow gathers. The water makes it especially difficult to keep holes in curb lanes filled, Jackman said.
Once the snow has finished melting, those conditions should improve, he said.
Some patches can last a year or longer, while others may not last a day. It depends on so many things - the type of pothole, the process used to fill it, the volume of traffic and even the drainage on that part of a street.
The public should call in any pothole that needs repairing, Jackman said, even if it has been hit by workers before.
Some of the potholes that were reported Wednesday had other holes nearby that appeared untouched Saturday.
Potholes can pop up any time, Jackman said, and sometimes repairing one hole can put stress on the street and lead to other rough spots nearby.
Crews are not supposed to simply fix one pothole and ignore others in the vicinity, he said.
The city has 180 workers out on the streets battling potholes. So far, they have responded to hundreds of complaints, he said, and they seem to be getting to problems within the set timelines.
"The people out there are really trying to keep up with what's going on," Jackman said.
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