Columbus to Begin Intensified Pothole Repair Effort

Columbus will begin a month-long intensified pothole repair program on March 17. During this period, the city’s goal will be to patch every reported pothole within three dry-weather days. From March 17-31, street maintenance crews will fill potholes 24 hours a day, seven days a week, weather permitting. From April 1-14, crews will work from 7:30 am to 7:30 pm, seven days a week, with an additional overnight shift Sundays through Wednesdays. There are typically six to 10 crews per shift and four to six equipment operators on each crew. Potholes cannot be repaired during snow, ice and rain events.

During the one month intensified pothole repair effort, residents may report potholes through Facebook atColumbus Public Service or Twitter @ColumbusDPS, in addition to the customary 311 Customer Service Center. Residents are asked to include the location of the pothole by referencing:

• The name of the street where the pothole is located;
• The address of a home or business closest to the pothole;
• The direction of travel (northbound, southbound, eastbound, westbound) where the pothole is located;
• The lane in which the pothole is located if it is a multilane street.

The city will continue to repair potholes beyond April 16. Residents are encouraged to report potholes throughout the year by contacting 311 at 645-3111, or online at www.311.columbus.gov or by using the MyColumbus Mobile App.

City crews already have patched nearly 33,000 potholes so far this year.

Residents are also reminded to not use Twitter, Facebook or the MyColumbus Mobile App while they are driving. Both the state of Ohio and city of Columbus prohibit texting while driving.

City of Columbus Pothole Patching Fact Sheet

The City of Columbus patches potholes on City of Columbus streets and parts of State routes 315, 33 and 104 that are in the City of Columbus. ODOT is responsible for patching potholes on I-70, I-71, I-270 and I-670

Columbus’ Pothole Patching crews are responsible for 6,387 lane miles of roadway, more than Cleveland and Cincinnati combined. A lane mile is defined as one mile of roadway multiplied by the number of lanes in the roadway.

The process for patching potholes begins different ways:

§  Residents contact 311 (call 311 or 645-3111, online at

www.311.columbus.gov, using MyColumbus Mobile App, Facebook at Columbus Publc Service or Twitter @ Columbus DPS) to notify the City of the location of a pothole.  Please include an address or nearest address of a home or business where the pothole is located to help us serve you better.  The locations are then forwarded to the Department of Public Service to be scheduled for patching, or

§  Separate from, and in addition to, 311 requests, Department of Public Service crews are routinely deployed to locate and patch potholes.  These deployments are proactive standard practice that works in tandem with 311 requests to find and patch potholes.

Patching potholes is a City of Columbus priority:

• Potholes are typically patched within three days after a service request is filed. This standard may vary because of a very large volume of potholes being reported or a snow, ice or rain storm during the patching process.

Hot patching potholes:

• During winter, is most effective above freezing (32°).
• However, hot patch, at 300 degrees, does not bond well with the dramatically colder pavement in cold winter weather, including cold temperatures above freezing

§  The hot patch shrinks away from, and does not conform to, the surrounding asphalt and the contours inside the pothole.

§  Because hot patch does not bond well with a cold pothole and pavement, it is like cold patch:  a temporary fix

§  Therefore, cold patch is typically used during winter months

§  Cold patch is less expensive ($75/ton) than hot patch purchased during the winter from a private vendor ($100/ton)

Cold patching potholes

• Cold patch is a temporary fix designed to repair potholes until they can be hot patched during warmer weather in the spring and summer if the cold patched hole reopens
• Lifespan of a cold patch varies and is affected by traffic volume and speed of the roadway where the cold patch is made

Columbus Pothole Patchers have other job responsibilities including, but not limited to:

• Snow removal
• Street cleaning
• Alley surfacing treatment
• Mowing
• Underpass cleaning
• Graffiti removal