Following several consecutive days of rain, the City of San Diego is responding to a spike in the number of potholes on streets. This week, dozens of additional teams are being assigned to make pothole repairs and the City’s Transportation Department is repurposing other asphalt and concrete crews and equipment to support the work being done by existing patch truck crews.
On a non-rainy day, there are up to nine crews assigned to fill potholes across the City. These are two-person teams who respond to pothole repair requests; each team will complete 10-15 requests per day. With the recent storms, the City is dedicating approximately 150 employees to address the backlog of repairs.
San Diegans are encouraged to report potholes by using the Get It Done application or by calling 619-527-7500. For more information and resources on how to properly prepare before a storm, visit the City’s Storm Preparedness page.
Typically, the City has a daily average of 200 pothole requests to be filled. After the recent storms, the backlog is just above 1,600 reports. As crews are unable to fill potholes when it is actively raining, dry weather provides an opportunity to address the backlog of repairs and to address new potholes that have developed.
Filling potholes is a year-round task for City crews, but wet weather can exacerbate the problem as water seeps into the surface of the street, causing the asphalt to loosen and potholes to develop. In addition to filling potholes, the City continues to repair and resurface roads through its slurry seal program. Preventing the deterioration of streets is key to improving the overall condition of San Diego’s network of streets and reduces the need for more costly asphalt overlay and reconstruction required for badly deteriorated streets. View a map of repairs in your neighborhood by visiting the Streets Map webpage.
“We are taking an ‘all hands on deck’ approach to filling potholes after the significant amount of rain we experienced recently,” said Eric K. Dargan, City of San Diego COO. “Our teams have been cleaning up from the storms and they will be out seven days per week filling potholes until we can get caught up on these repairs.”
