Jersey City sends DWP crews out each day to fill hundreds of potholes; nearly third of funding already spent

Thursday, March 31, 2011
By RHEA MAHBUBANI
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Spring has sprung and the potholes have sprouted.

Over a span of six hours Monday, Brian Mills and his colleagues from the Jersey City Department of Public Works filled 95 potholes. Recently, the crew has been filling 120 to 130 potholes a day, he said.


"Blame the weather," said Mills, 46. "With storms back-to-back-to-back, we are just now trying to catch up."

The bitter winter wreaked havoc on Jersey City's thoroughfares as rainwater and snow trickled into cracks in the asphalt, the workers explained.

Fluctuating temperatures forced the water to freeze and expand, and then melt. Add in the normal wear and tear of traffic and the result is thousands of potholes.

Given the several storms this past winter, residents can expect "double the amount of potholes" as compared to last year and complaints have been pouring into the Mayor's Action Bureau, city spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill said.

The Department of Public Works has $144,975 this year to repair potholes. So far, $43,000 has been spent to fill approximately 2,000 potholes, Morrill said.

Because of the repeated storms, DPW crews were unable to get to work on filling the potholes until just a few weeks ago. Now, they respond to complaints within 24 hours and fill the holes with coal patches, which unfortunately only provide temporary relief.

These patches will only last till the next storm or if the weather holds out, until the summer, Mills said. As a result, starting next week, restoration efforts will switch to tar lining and hot asphalt, he said.

Leo DeLaVega, 65, a resident who lives near Bergen Avenue and Emory Street, said the coal patches are a waste of time.

"These patches are of no use," he said, adding, "We need new streets."