Dealing with potholes a high priority for City of Lethbridge crews

The current forecast is calling for a chance of flurries or periods of snow in Lethbridge through the weekend, and that’s compounding the ability of crews to deal with the potholes according to Perkins.

“Residents and drivers around town may see a pothole one day, then it’s filled the next, and it could be blown out the next day as long as we continue to have this freeze/thaw cycle,” he continued. “There are two sets of crews, one in the day and one in the evening, that are looking after our highest priority areas for sure.”

Perkins says residents can rest assured that potholes are a high priority item for the city.

“Right now, this is what crews are focused on because we’re dealing with a situation where we can’t plow snow or use the street sweepers yet, so we’re full on in pothole repairs. During the day shift there’s quite a few gentleman and ladies that you’ll see around,” Perkins added.

He also outlined the different products crews have available to them for use in different areas of town.

“We have a recycler, so we get to recycle some of our asphalt instead of sending it to the landfill. We also use a bag product called InstaPatch, you’ll see crews basically throw it into a pothole, run the tire of a truck over it and it usually holds for a little while. It’s been pretty effective when everything is dry, but when it’s wet it freezes and then it breaks.”

Lastly, Perkins says they have a product called Cold Mix which is made by the asphalt companies here in town.

“We keep a significant storage of it on site, but it really is just a temporary fix. Once the temperature goes above 10°C, that stuff tends to ooze but it’s a good mix for winter.”

Perkins was specific in saying crews are doing everything they can to deal with the potholes right now.

“Again, it’s supposed to snow this weekend, so we’ll be back to square one is some areas. People can contact us through the Leth App on their mobile device, on our website, and of course they can phone us at 403-320-3850,” Perkins said, adding any high priority potholes, or ones that could potentially cause damage to a vehicle they fix as quickly as possible.

Spring officially began on Mar. 20, but Lethbridge hasn’t exactly seen it.

Once the spring temperatures make their way here, Perkins says that’s when the concrete fixes can be carried out.

“What will happen then is we’ll have hot, new asphalt available from the plants here in town. They’re not operating right now, but once they start up crews will be able to use the hot asphalt which is the permanent fix. We’re looking forward to that,” Perkins stated.

by Aaron Mahoney (@Mahones93 on Twitter)

Dealing with potholes a high priority for City of Lethbridge crews

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