CINCINNATI – With a rapid increase in potholes on streets across Southwest Ohio, transportation agencies across the region are investing resources, and asking for patience, as they work to keep drivers safe.
What You Need To Know
- The city of Cincinnati will enforce mandatory overtime to help address the current pothole issues
- Cincinnati has received nearly 1,500 complaints about potholes this month
- Recent weather fluctuations have not only created potholes but also made it difficult for crews to make repairs
- Like Cincinnati, ODOT and Hamilton County have crews who work both on snow removal and pothole repair
The region’s pockmarked roadways are the result of drastic winter weather – a combination of snow, rain and unseasonably high temperatures – that has made it difficult for road crews to address residents' complaints as fast as they're reported.
The city has seen more requests for pothole repairs this February – nearly 1,500 – than it has in any month for at least that last four years.
On Wednesday, Mayor Aftab Pureval and interim City Manager John Curp instituted mandatory overtime for the city's Department of Public Services to improve those numbers.
“There are too many potholes on our streets right now, and while the recent weather cycle has presented a challenge, we are committed to devoting the resources necessary to ensure safe and clear roads for our drivers,” Pureval said.
DPS usually operates on two eight-hour shifts each week day. Those hours typically increase for winter weather events. Crews worked 12-hour shifts during the weather events over the past three weeks.
For the upcoming weekend and moving forward, DPS will ask staff to volunteer to work overtime. Overtime will become mandatory when, and if, they don't get enough volunteers.
DPS will use seniority to determine who works any mandatory overtime shifts.
Pureval said the decision to enact the overtime policy aims to “redouble” those efforts from earlier this winter.
“Our workers are committed to working hard to keep drivers safe,” Pureval said. “We will continue to ensure the necessary resources are devoted to this challenge and we will keep you updated as we continue to work hard to address this problem.”
So far in February, the city has received 1,496 service requests for pothole repairs, per information from the city manager. The data show there were 233 requests logged on Feb. 23 alone, which is just 97 fewer than the entire month of January.
As a point of reference, there were 1,609 total potholes reported the past three Februarys combined. Though, it should be noted that those numbers may have been partially affected by less vehicle traffic, and less reporting, due in part to the pandemic.
As of Wednesday, more than 1,200 requests remained open. DPS has closed 468 service requests so far this month, with 407 occurring between the winter ice storm period between Feb. 6 and Feb. 18. It’s taking the city about 6.3 days to close a request
"This is the highest number of complaints we've seen in over four years, and it's mostly a response to this most recent ice storm," said Interim City Manager John Curp. "Given the sudden increase in reports our crews are working faster than ever."
Issues felt across southwest Ohio
Even with extra resources on-hand, Mother Nature is making it difficult for crews to respond.
Mandi Dillon, an information officer for the Southwest District of Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT), said the combination of freeze and thaw happening so often really causes the pavement to kind of “pop out” and crack. It worsens when motorists start to drive over it, she said.
The city of Cincinnati said it has committed additional city resources to help keep more than 3,000 lanes of Cincinnati streets safe and passable. But they also cautioned that there’s still only so much they can do given the circumstances, including the weather and the availability of supplies.
Jarrod Bolden, who leads traffic and road operations for DPS, said the preferred pothole fix is to use a product called "hot mix" asphalt – a combination of stone, sand and/or gravel bound together by asphalt cement. They heat the mix before using it to fill a pothole.
That mix is not widely available, right now, due in part to the fact pothole season is happening earlier than usual, Pureval said.
For those reasons, many potholes are being filled with what's called cold patch asphalt, which is essentially a mixture of gravel and asphalt that doesn’t get heated. It’s cheap and easy to apply but only a temporary fix, especially in part with the added water and moisture collecting in potholes. Bolden said crews can’t use it when it’s raining.
As a result, DPS may have to go back out and fix potholes they’ve already repaired. Curp said all cold patch work will be followed up and redone with hot patch asphalt when supplies allow.
Another challenge is the same city crews responsible for pretreating streets are also the ones filling potholes. It’s the same situation in Hamilton County and ODOT.
“It's the same crews doing both but we definitely take the pothole situation seriously. Our crews are out there doing everything they can to patch them up as fast as possible,” Dillion said.
The Hamilton County Engineer, Eric Beck, said his team members work a standard eight-hour day and will get assigned overtime as needed for things, like snow and ice removal, or emergency roadway repairs. Hamilton County has at least 75 highway maintenance workers on the job every day to cover its 68 snow routes, Beck said.
Beck spent Wednesday afternoon transitioning his team between pothole repair and preparing for a potential wintry mix Thursday morning.
“Potholes are popping up everywhere,” he added. “We have our crews out every day driving the county roads, finding any that we can find and filling them. And as we get calls and complaints and locations we go out and take care of them as fast as possible.”
Residents can report potholes to Hamilton County by calling 513-946-8400. The dispatcher will help residents file a complaint. If a street address turns out not to be in the county’s jurisdiction, the dispatcher will put them in contact with the proper agency.
There are multiple ways to report potholes in Cincinnati. Residents can call 513-591-6000, visit 5916000.com, or use the city’s Fix it Cincy! mobile app. Residents can also file a claim with the city if they feel their vehicle was damaged by a pothole. Not all claims are eligible for reimbursement, though.
The AAA reminds drivers that they should never swerve to avoid a pothole. They should slow down while approaching it and they should make sure their care is in good working order.
“Be patient with us,” Beck asked of residents. “It's a never-ending task and we do our best to try to keep them taken care of as soon as we hear about them.”