Since January, the City, spurred by ongoing heavy winter rains – and more storms this week – has conducted an “all hands on deck” approach to addressing problematic potholes under the direction of Mayor Todd Gloria.

In a matter of weeks, work crews have repaired more than 14,000 potholes citywide, dramatically decreasing a backlog of pothole repair reports by more than 80%. That has been accomplished thanks to an increase in staffing and resources devoted to pothole repairs.

As of Feb. 15, there were approximately 350 open pothole reports in the City’s Get It Done app, down from a high of 2,233 in January. Get It Done reports only account for some of the potholes identified by City crews as needing repair.

Those familiar with roads in Pacific Beach and La Jolla are well aware of several severe pothole areas plaguing both communities. In PB, potholes are pronounced along Crown Point Drive, Riveria Drive, and Grand Avenue close to Mission Bay Drive, as well as along Ingraham Street, which is known to have some of the worst potholes in the City. La Jolla Parkway coming off Interstate 5 has also proven to be a problematic pothole area.

Beach & Bay Press/La Jolla Village News held a Q&A with City senior spokesperson Anthony Santacroce, to bring the residents all up to speed on the nature of the pothole problem citywide, and what is being done about it.

BBP/LJVN: What are potholes and what causes them?

Santacroce: The elemental definition is a hole in the roadway roughly the size of your cooking pot. What causes them is the same everywhere: Asphalt is applied to resurface roadways. Asphalt is porous and, when it is exposed to elements such as weather and temperature, it is expanding and contracts with the days, seasons, and temperatures. Normally what happens is rain comes and the water gets in between those cracks in the roadway and destabilizes the base layer, the foundation of the asphalt. It lifts up the top layer of the asphalt a little bit along those vulnerable areas, especially on busy streets that have a lot of automobiles and heavy truck traffic. Those vehicles keep hitting the asphalt, lifting it up, and kind of throwing it around. Then, a pothole is formed over time from exposure to precipitation and water.

BBP/LJVN: Walk us through the procedure for repairing potholes.

Santacroce: The City has nine pothole-patching trucks with two people per truck. The main “leads” come from the Get It Done platform. Those form the basis of what we receive that are turned into service notifications, which are then divided up between the trucks and crews on any given day. Crews come out for work early in the morning from the Rose Canyon work yard, and go to the plant to get asphalt in their trucks, then proceed to the pothole locations. That can be 15 to 30 depending on the day. Crews go until the asphalt runs out in their trucks, usually mid-afternoon, 3 or 4 p.m.

BBP/LJVN: What process is involved in patching potholes?

Santacroce: Pothole trucks are followed up by pickup trucks that put out the (orange) cones to stop traffic and make sure everything is safe. Crews then work quickly dumping the asphalt into the hole. They rake it (hole) smooth, flattening it with a push iron device. The asphalt gets ironed, the heat is applied to it solidifying it, and that patches the hole.

BBP/LJVN: How long does a pothole patch last?

Santacroce: It doesn’t last forever. It depends on the season and the traffic load that particular roadway has. Patches are meant to keep the road smooth and help keep damage from happening to cars.

BBP/LJVN: Why is Ingraham Street in PB, and surrounding areas, especially bad for potholes?

Santacroce: There are pothole issues across the City, and we recognize that some areas are worse, due to the frequency of travel and exposure to the elements, tending to have more severe potholes more frequently than other areas. Saltwater and moisture have something to do with it and are factors presenting more obvious pothole issues.

BBP/LJVN: Does La Jolla have any particularly problematic pothole areas?

Santacroce: La Jolla Parkway coming off Interstate 5. This has been a road issue of concern for the community, which is why it has been included in roadways to be resurfaced this March. It is part of Mayor Gloria’s “sexy streets” proposal, wherein City Council districts offer up their special (road) priorities for consideration. And La Jolla Parkway was one of them. Recently, I was out on La Jolla Parkway with crews at 11:30 p.m. patching potholes in advance of the street’s resurfacing. We patched those potholes, even though the street is scheduled to be resurfaced soon. La Jolla Parkway is a priority for us.

BBP/LJVN: Is there anything that can be done to prevent potholes from forming?

Santacroce: Potholes are an issue not only in San Diego but across the region, the country, and the world. We are not sure prevention is possible. But certainly, mitigation can be possible. And you do that with a robust pothole resurfacing program to try and accommodate more and more (potholes).

BBP/LJVN: Why stick with softer asphalt for pothole patching, why not patch with a material more solid like concrete?

Santacroce: We have infrastructure – water, cable, sewer, etc. – underneath the streets. If those streets were concrete, just imagine how difficult it would be to get down to the infrastructure. Asphalt being a softer material allows us to fix problems and do repairs under our roadways. So asphalt is the material used to resurface a roadway in all cases. These standards are set on a regional basis and by municipalities using standard formulas. The asphalt you put down in San Diego is the same as the asphalt put down in San Marcos or Oceanside.

BBP/LJVN: Is there quality control to ensure asphalt is of proper quality?

Santacroce: [The City] has a testing facility and lab on Ruffin Road where we test the materials. Every time we get a batch of asphalt from suppliers, we take a sample of that for testing. If a roadway has deteriorated very quickly, we can find out through testing if it is because of faulty materials.

BBP/LJVN: Is patching potholes a priority for the City?

Santacroce: Under Mayor Gloria, potholes are definitely a priority as are other issues like ensuring smooth safe roads, not only for motorists but for other modes of travel. We can have up to 200 potholes a day for calls. Our average turnaround for potholes reported in dry weather is nine days. But that can jump to 28 days with inclement weather. This year, we had a backlog of more than 2,000 potholes at one point in January. We’ve gotten that down to around 350 cases, with crews busy around the clock. We’re doing all we can, looking at problem areas like Ingraham Street and Sail Bay in Pacific Beach. We are aware of them, and try to patch as many potholes as we can.

View a map of pothole repairs in your neighborhood by visiting calles.sandiego.gov. San Diegans are encouraged to continue reporting potholes to the City by using the Get It Done application or by calling 619-527-7500.