Pothole Patching Nearing One Third Of the Way Completion
Tuesday, May 29, 2012 @ 11:06 AM
Prince George, B.C.- The streets division pot hole crews in Prince George have already filled 11,000 potholes in the City this year , and manager Mick Jones figures they are between ¼ to 1/3 of way through the job.
“Last year at this time we had filled 5200 potholes and we have done 11 thousand so far this year in the same period” says Jones. He says at the peak of pothole repair, crews were patching up to 600 a day, but that has levelled off and now with hot mix available the three crews are working around the clock. Jones says if done right, and under the right weather conditions, a properly patched pothole could last another couple of years. “The weakest point of any patch is the joint, and the edges are a joint. It’s the same as pavement, the joint is the weakest point and if water can get in there, well, there will be problems.”
The road rehabilitation program officially gets underway today with grinding of old asphalt on Ospika, and if the weather cooperates a new 2 inch layer of asphalt will be laid down on top of the old 2 inches.
Jones says the City has been looking at any and all options, “We will try anything, we’ve tried different cold mix. We don’t claim to have all the answers, but at the same time, we are doing the best we can.”
One of the promising new options is the Python 5000 a pothole patching machine ( in photo at right) that when used by an experienced operator, can fill a pothole in under 2 minutes and leaves a patch the manufacturer claims can often outlive the surrounding pavement.(click on photo at right for portion of manufacturer’s promotional video – courtesy Python Manufacturing Inc)
“The concept (of the Python5000) looks great” says Jones “But we would like to talk to some of the municipalities where it is being used to see how it performs. We are trying to arrange for a demo, but 6 other communities are trying to arrange for a demo as well.”
Comments
So the potholes that were patched at the beginning of the year on Bear Rd are already potholes again. So ânew 2 inch layer of asphalt will be laid down on top of the old 2 inchesâ which will then peel off making more potholes. If I can see where the 2 inch sections of pavement that did not adhere to the old pavement properly is coming off in chunks a few years later why do we continue to use this system. Would actually re-paving the road not better more effective?
This town is one big pot hole, fill it in and start over,but leave the bums at city hall when you do it..BS.
Pothole crews are filling 600 potholes a day, filled 11,000 pot holes to date this year compared to 5200 by same time last yr……that tells me that they have found efficiencies within a reduced budget…perhaps better use of time, better equipment, more effective patching materials, or all of the above….kepp up the good work! but wasn’t there upwards of 90,000 potholes filled last yr when the roads were not this bad…..and if they are already 1/4 to 1/3 the way through this yrs’ pothole patching the job will be well below last yrs completion numbers.
I listened to council’s discussion last night regarding the deplorable state of our roads…and my take on it is that
council is now acting in a crisis management mode….most councillors and the Mayor stated that they now realize that they should have increased the road rehab budget in February when they had a chance…now they are back paddling and considering a new motion presented by councillor Hall to shift funds (up to or in excess of 1 mil)from dedicated reserves in order to add more money to this year’s road rehab work. The ‘motion’ of robbing Peter to pay Paul is not a sustainable way to address the City’s 3.5 Mil shortfall for roads and especially when you factor in the bigger annual infrastructure deficit of 12 mil which includes, water,sewer and waste water management. Council’s consideration of drawing down dedicated reserves and shifting those funds to road rehab while it may offer a short term bandaide effect it does nothing but add layers and more debt to a bigger problem and as the City’s Corporate Financial Manager Ms Soltis indicated this approach comes with consequences.
Mick Jones needs to be fired! Its as simple as that, folks keep sayin it’s not his fault cuz he doesnt do the budget or have the $ etc. NO…He makes decisions about the streets and from what I have seen he makes the wrong ones everytime!! Horrible decisions, time for a new streets manager as we cant get rid of the Mayor for a few years!
Just looked over several websites to see what Mick Jones actual title is because I don’t think he personally decides what is fixed and when. I found him listed as “city transportation manager” as well as “supervisor of street operations” and “supervisor, technical services”. I thought he was a communications director so now I don’t know what his actual current job is lol
Oh and this story says he is a manager ;-)
Suffice to say he may be all things to all people. Could be.
More money directed at potholes does not address the problem. The problem is why are we getting so many potholes? My first observation is to look at other communities in similar climates and see what the condition of their streets and roads are in. Let’s look at Edmonton for example. Their roads seem pretty good to me. So, what is the difference? Well, I have been told that they lay down 6 inches of asphalt, not 2 inches on top of 2 inches. Maybe we should start their
This is very sad when they have to count the potholes filled to impress the taxpayer. Are they to busy counting pothles when they should be filling them.
Cheers
I like it when they slam through five one foot potholes to fill one smaller on just beyond the five, then turn around and drive back through them again.
I was actually wondering when they were going to get started on the potholes. I assumed they were waiting for the core review or something. To find out they are 1/4 to 1/3 the way through flabbergasts me. Where are they doing these potholes? Not on the streets I drive, and I drive a lot of main arterys.
$3.5 M / yr more funding is needed to get to perfect roads. Or $175 / yr more per house or $15/ month. Not a huge price to pay. Let’s get on with it.
I’m sure we all spend twice that on coffee.
Why does the City need a new Yards office worth over $@ million???
And what about the sidewalks? They’re filled with potholes as are the intersections i have to cross every day. It’s pretty sad whne i risk a broken ankle or worse just to get to school or work. And drivers please slow down when we’re corrsing right now. We have to dodge potholes too and it takes more time for us to cross streets. Thanks.
Tell you what Bug, if you are so willing to pay you can pay my portion too. That would only be 30.00 per month for you. Less than a dollar a day. You won’t even notice it!
NoWay – only if you agree to not drive on my roads
Looking at my tax bill I see the 2015 tax of $49.50 per household. Here is a way we can fix the roads if we can wait that long is that the city continue to keep that tax (like they will drop it after the games) and use it to have the best roads in the Province ;-)
But I’m already paying Bug so I guess I can still drive on your roads. If you can afford to pay more, by all means pay it.
So if all they need is 15/month per house then I’m sure they can find it in the monety they waste. Maybe shutdown the 4 Seasons Pool I heard it was a cash Cow.
Can someone report the location of these mysterious patching crews?
Foothills Boulevard the past few days, it does look and feel much better.
Can some patching crew PLEASE do something about the totally destroyed right hand lane on the off ramp from #97 to Massey Drive and to the Pine Centre Mall? People use the left lane going down and people going up have to come to a stop to avoid a collision!
Either that or block it off to traffic altogether! It is unsafe!
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