MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The weather is beginning to warm causing the ice and snow to melt leaving some roads with bigger potholes than before.
The city says it’s received so many reports of potholes it can no longer keep its promise to get them fixed in five days.
It’s no secret winter weather wreaks havoc on roads, opening up potholes and even creating new ones.
James Becton says on Thursday he found himself stuck forking over money to replace a tire damaged by one of the many potholes popping up in the city.
“Right when you get off the expressway, I-240, you got a nice size pothole right there. There was another lady that hit the same pothole this morning and I changed her flat,” Becton said.
Becton says he can only imagine how many more drivers will find themselves with flats before winter comes to a close.
“This time of year is bad for everyone so they need to do more,” Becton said.
On Thursday the city announced an ambitious promise: The Public Works director said his crew would fix each pothole within five days of it being reported.
The city has told WREG that from January 12 to January 198 they have repaired 187 potholes.
They also clarified that their goals are to repair the potholes within 5 business days after they are reported.
But would be “prioritizing pothole repair based on the potholes reported prior to the winter events.”
They also stated that the 5 business day timeframe does not include potholes reported after business hours.
The city has also moved their sand/salt truck crews to pothole repairs and said they will authorize overtime if necessary.
The city told WREG that they have budgeted for this and the fact that they own and operate their own asphalt plant allows them to be “even more cost-effective.”
“I see them out fixing them its just a lot of them it’s just so many of them and they cant get to them and I understand that,” Becton said.
Becton says for him it’s just a hassle on top of rain-sleet-and snow now he’s got to battle potholes popping up during his work day.
“I own a fence and lawn service and we are on the road every day,” Becton said.
You can use your phone to report potholes. It’s called SeeClickFix. You send in a picture of the pothole with a detailed location.
