Tulsa pothole repair crews

The never-ending job of patching potholes. Last week&#39;s winter storm created a flurry of new ones and city of Tulsa crews were out patching potholes Friday. <br/><br/>News on 6 reporter Emory Bryan

Friday, February 24th 2006, 10:16 am

By: News On 6


The never-ending job of patching potholes. Last week's winter storm created a flurry of new ones and city of Tulsa crews were out patching potholes Friday.

News on 6 reporter Emory Bryan says potholes pop up all the time, but especially after a hard freeze.

The snow and ice last weekend left some damage that the city is working to fix. The job of patching potholes isn't glamorous, but Sam Cotton likes it. He's seen a lot of them over the last two years. "Been a lot, it's hard to keep count, it's been so many."

Freezing weather makes potholes form. Wet freezing weather is worse. The snow last weekend damaged the streets, but it came at the end of a better than usual winter.

Darren Stefanek with the City of Tulsa: "It's been a really good winter, with the exception of last weekend; it's been ideal conditions for us, for a winter."

The city has 8 to 10 crews out each day patching potholes. They can get 50 - 75 of them in a day. Each one they patch cost about $7. Most pothole repairs are simple - the workers blow out the dirt and spray it with an oily goo. They fill it with 300 degree asphalt and pack it down. It doesn't take long, but it's a never ending job to fill them.

The city patches the major streets constantly by just driving them and patching every one they see. It takes about a week to hit all the potholes on the major streets.

Crews go to neighborhood streets based on demand, from complaints that come in to city hall. Darren Stefanek: "They're just aren't enough crews or enough people to travel every street in the city, we depend on the people who hit those potholes or see them to call it in."

If you have a pothole to report, you can call the Mayor’s Action Center at 596-2100 or you can go to the city's website.
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