City tackles pothole problem

As if driving during harsh weather conditions isn’t stressful enough, the barrage of snow and ice that recently covered the city has wreaked havoc on local roads by creating a slew of potholes in the area.

City officials said crews are out repairing the craters that have riddled the city and often catch drivers off guard.

“It was the worst winter in years and it leads to the degradation of our roads,” said Public Works Commissioner Kevin Mulligan. “Our entire street maintenance crew is out filling potholes.”

 Mulligan said that because water gets under the pavement through cracks or from the side of the road, it causes the material under the pavement to erode and sink down and break.

  Because making permanent repairs during the winter are both difficult and expensive, Mulligan said that in the winter months the city fills potholes with both a cold and hot patch — a coarse material that is used to fill in the pothole and temporarily repair the street — and wait until spring to make permanent repairs with hot asphalt.

“In the winter you’re usually putting something called a cold patch, which could last through the winter until we can get back out there and address the potholes in a permanent fashion,” he said.

Although Mulligan said that the numerous winter storms have stretched the city’s snow removal budgets thin, he said the city plans to spend $75,000 on cold patches, while $200,000 is earmarked for a pothole crew throughout the city.

The temporary repairs are intended to maintain safety and minimize damage to vehicles, while permanent road repairs cannot be made until the earth thaws in the spring. Additionally, Mulligan said that suppliers do not provide hot asphalt until March.

“We’re going to spend what we have until we feel comfortable that the roads are up to the standards that the public is accustomed to,” Mulligan said.

Potholes found on major roadways and that pose an immediate hazard to motorists or pedestrians are given primary attention, Mulligan said. “We’re always on the lookout to make sure that Park Avenue and all of our main roads and secondary roads are in the best possible condition,” he said.

For more information or to report a pothole, visit www.longbeachny.org or call the city’s pothole hotline at 705-7282. To report a pothole on a Nassau County road — Park Avenue between Maple Boulevard and Long Beach Boulevard are county roads, as is Long Beach Boulevard north of Park Avenue — call 516-571-6900.