Facing those potholes

Posted 3/10/15

You’re going to hear and read a lot about pesky potholes, gargantuan potholes, cars lost in potholes and potholes the size of lunar craters in the weeks ahead.

That shouldn’t be a …

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Facing those potholes

Posted

You’re going to hear and read a lot about pesky potholes, gargantuan potholes, cars lost in potholes and potholes the size of lunar craters in the weeks ahead.

That shouldn’t be a surprise.

With the prospect that one of the snowiest and coldest winters is finally on the way out – yes, that was the sun you saw yesterday – pavement is being exposed, and it isn’t pretty. If the freeze hasn’t buckled roads, then the constant pounding of plows has left them cracked and susceptible to the freeze/thaw cycle that has already started.

The bounty is by no means limited. Some of the most heavily traveled roads, such as Post Road and West Shore Road, which are both state highways, have an abundance of potholes. Yet, even some of the least traveled city roads, such as dead ends with only a few homes, are also breaking out.

State and city crews are out there doing what they can with cold patch. At best, cold patch repairs are a temporary fix. With traffic, water from snowmelt or rain, cold patch breaks up and the pothole reappears. More permanent repairs require hot asphalt and warmer conditions.

But this is not to suggest this is a helpless situation.

Mayor Scott Avedisian has taken a good step in dealing with the problem, and that’s recognizing that it exists. His pothole hotline, enabling people to call in a pothole or record it online, provides the city an overview of the problem and to develop a plan to address it systematically. It does more than that.

As acting chief of staff William DePasquale observed in a story reported in today’s Beacon, the data will be useful in creating a pavement management plan for the city. The administration has been conducting an assessment of its 400 miles of roads and a system of rating them. It will then prioritize work and use different methods of prolonging road pavement so as to maximize funding for road repairs.

We recognize a pothole hotline is not only a means of collecting data, but also, in a real way, of owning up to the problem. Once people have reported a pothole, they’re going to be watching to see it is fixed.

Mayor Avedisian is taking on that responsibility. Now let’s recognize these are unusual conditions. It’s not all going to be taken care of overnight, and, given finicky weather, we’re likely to see the same pothole making more than one reappearance.

To report a pothole, call 738-2000, ext. 5700 or visit www.warwickri.gov and fill out the “Report a Pothole” form. Include the name of the street, traffic flow (north, south, etc.), nearby cross streets and landmarks.

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  • Stella

    The lack of preventative care combined with the low quality of repairs is the major cause for our roads being in such poor condition. When will we stop the bandaid approach to road construction. Far too many roads need to be rebuilt not just resurfaced. The utility construction needs to be completed in advance and they need to be held accountable for their poor repairs. We should notify them in advance so they can upgrade all the necessary pipes and lines before the road is rebuilt. Then if there is a problem they own the whole problem, period. We pay the cost of our poor roads in many ways not just in the repair of them. It takes a grave toll on our vehicles and our safety. Lastly we need more bidders in road construction. I find it interesting that the same company gets all the projects. Our neighbors to the north seem to accomplish so much more in so much less time. I remember a time when there was significant infrastructure construction in RI and we had many companies completing the building. I guess we are victims of our own making.

    Saturday, March 14, 2015 Report this