Resurfacing Program | Street Sweeping | Pot Holes & Repairs | Sidewalks | Storm Drains (Utilities) |
Roadway Markings | Curbs & Gutters | Weed Abatement | Street Signs
Pot Holes and Repairs
Potholes are caused when the pavement or the material beneath it cannot support the weight of the traffic it carries. Two factors are the main causes of potholes - water and traffic.
Typically, water seeps into the subbase either through cracks in the surface or from standing water along the side. If the water is improperly drained, it can often soften the subbase, much like dry, hard ground softens to mud. Over a period of time base material can shift or ooze to the side, leaving nothing to support the pavement above it. Repeated poundings to traffic cause the pavement to weaken, crack and ultimately cave in.
Traffic that is too heavy for the pavement's design can cause fatigue cracks in the streets, after many repeated trips over the pavement. A street designed for residential traffic may suffer fatigue cracks when it becomes a local transit route or when it starts carrying a number of large trucks. For instance, a typical 18-wheel semi-trailer truck has the equivalent loading effect of between 3,000 and 6,000 passenger vehicles.
Facing the squeeze of higher costs, less revenue, and citizen resistance to tax increases, the City must choose appropriate budget cuts in the General Fund. Often, street maintenance is deferred. Seal coats have been postponed or canceled, thereby accelerating a deterioration rate of the pavement already fueled by increased age and traffic. In an effort to address this continuing concern, the Quality of Life Department maintains a full-time crew responsible for pot hole patching and other related asphalt pavement repairs.
To report pot holes or any other related asphalt repair, please contact the Quality of Life Department at (909) 798-7655 and provide our staff with the location of the pot hole or roadway damage.
