It’s been a brutal winter for roads this year. According to officials with the Philadelphia Streets Department, the city has filled more than 12,000 potholes and is on pace to break an all-time record.
The pothole patchwork won’t last however. Eventually, several city roads will need to be repaved, which means the streets department will need extra cash.
In the new budget plan, the city set aside $12 million to spend this year on repaving 22 miles of roadway. Next month, resurfacing projects for roads will go out for bid.
“We operate strictly on a worst, first-case basis,” said David Perri the Streets Commissioner. “The ones that come up as having the most defects.”
Ernie Bocolo, of Lexington Park, hopes one that one of those roads will be Lexington Avenue in Northeast Philadelphia, which is covered with potholes.
“There are moms, dads and kids on bikes,” Bocolo said. “Somebody is going to lose control one day. Someone is going to get hit.”
Experts say new asphalt generally holds up for ten years. However, brutal winters like the one we’ve experienced can cause roads to deteriorate faster. In his budget plan, Mayor Nutter pledged an additional $4 million for paving projects for the next fiscal year.
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“You reach a point where just fixing the potholes is just not a solution,” Perri said. “Not a permanent fix for a street and we have to get in there and re-pave the street.”
