Current Requests to Fill Potholes Down to Virtually Zero

The Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) announced today that it has filled 568,426 street potholes in 2011 and virtually eliminated all outstanding requests by residents for street potholes before the end of the year.
“Meeting this year’s high demand was important to reduce traffic delays and vehicle damage while also ensuring that we are prepared to tackle any new potholes that develop during the next several months,” said Gabe Klein, Commissioner of the Department of Transportation. “Completing all outstanding requests reflects the high priority we have given to repairing pothole damage caused by last winter’s severe weather.”
CDOT filled 141,128 more potholes in 2011 than in 2010. Crews also filled 47,452 potholes in alleys in 2011, up from 31,130 in 2010.

CDOT officials point to two factors in the number of potholes created during the winter and spring: weather and age of asphalt.  As snow melts and thaws, the water and salt flow into cracks in the asphalt.  If the temperature drops, the water freezes and expands, causing the asphalt to break down and potholes to form.
“The weather last year played a large role in the increased number of potholes,” said Klein.  “Prior to the major blizzard in February, CDOT had less than 500 reports of potholes needing repair.  By the end of March, the total was almost 6,000.”
During the winter months, CDOT has 15 to 20 crews of four workers filling potholes.  During the warm months when asphalt plants are open, the number of crews is reduced to five or six, with the other workers reassigned to focus on repaving projects.  Repaving aged streets is a preventative measure that stops potholes from forming.
The average time to fill a street pothole – from the time it is reported, until the time it is filled – was 15 days, which was up from the average of 11 days in 2010.

CDOT can receive up to several hundred new requests each day, which makes the task of getting to zero requests impossible. Therefore, when CDOT has less than 500 outstanding requests – a number they can fill rather quickly – they consider that to be virtually zero outstanding requests.  CDOT had 308 open requests on Dec. 27.