NJDOT outlines pothole repair efforts
(Trenton) As the number of potholes created by an erratic winter increases, the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) continues its aggressive efforts to repair potholes across the state.
“NJDOT has been diligently repairing potholes as they appear, and the Department will fill over 220,000, or 21,000 per week, by June,” said Commissioner Kris Kolluri. “I encourage motorists to help make the state’s roads safer and expedite pothole repair by dialing 1-800-POTHOLE or visiting the NJDOT website to report pothole locations.”
NJDOT uses nine pothole killer machines to rapidly and cost-efficiently eliminate potholes on state roadways. The pothole killer machine can apply approximately six tons of patch material per day. Each pothole killer contains all of the material needed to patch a pothole. A single person operates each machine by using a joystick control inside the vehicle’s cab. This reduces the number of staff needed to patch potholes and increases employee safety by enabling pothole killer operators to work from the safety of the vehicle.
NJDOT also employs 400 maintenance staff to manually patch potholes. Over 100 NJDOT maintenance crews are available to repairs potholes throughout the state.
Potholes are created by major fluctuations in temperatures that cause moisture in roadways to freeze and thaw, breaking up the pavement. Such temperature changes typically occur in the spring as days become warmer, but temperatures have fluctuated during recent weeks.
In order to minimize disruptions to traffic flow, NJDOT will primarily perform repairs on weekends and during evening hours.
Pothole repair facts:
• NJDOT has filled over 173,500 potholes in Fiscal Year 2007
• NJDOT will fill over 220,000 by June 2007
• NJDOT has used more than 6,080 tons of patch material in Fiscal Year 2007
• NJDOT will spend $8.0 million on pothole repairs in Fiscal Year 2007
• 1-800-POTHOLE has received 927 calls in 2007 and received 3053 total calls in 2006
• NJDOT’s website has received 2,581 pothole hits in 2007 and received 10,136 hits in 2006
To report a pothole on a State highway, motorists are urged to call 1-800-POTHOLE or visit NJDOT’s website (http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/) and click “Report a Pothole.”
