Pueblo officials release results of last month’s ‘Pothole Blitz’
Scott Harrison
PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) — Officials revealed that their weeklong pothole repair saturation effort in late June resulted in using nearly three times more asphalt than normally used during an entire summer.
Crews used 1,300 tons of asphalt to fill 1,500 potholes across town; the city’s Bureau of Public Works deployed four crews instead of five as initially planned because one truck broke down.
Workers completed another pothole operation last week that focused on larger potholes; that effort required 16 tons of asphalt.
Todd Beriford, the city’s street supervisor, came up with the idea for the “Pothole Blitz,” and said that he’s not aware that anyone — in southern Colorado, at least — has conducted a similar operation.
“Even though it was kind of a headache because I had a lot of paperwork to go through and a lot of organizing to try and get where it was, I would do it again,” he said. “Anything to help people drive more safely. We don’t want damaged vehicles. That’s what potholes do, is they damage vehicles.”
The goal of the blitz was to fill as many potholes as possible, using cold mix material that can be applied easily and quickly.
But that strategy has a drawback.
“They’ll last through the summer,” Beriford said. “We’ll have the same problems come wintertime. It’s inevitable. It’s an ongoing process.”
In response, the city has invested nearly $120,000 in two machines: One will allow crews to do longer-lasting pothole repairs using hot mix asphalt year-round; the other will recycle millings (old asphalt scraped off streets before repaving) and use them as fill material.
Beriford said that with the new machines, the city will be able to fill potholes more quickly, more efficiently, and save money on asphalt.
The blitz also allowed the city to form a list and a map of streets that have had recurring pothole issues, and to better respond to them.