Janesville public works crews swamped by reports of potholes
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Click here to make a pothole patching request in Janesville, or call the city's public works department at 608-755-3110.
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Janesville public works employees Tyler Westby, left, and Troy Hill were patching potholes in the central part of the city Thursday. This winter, with its temperature fluctuations and precipitation in many forms, has been particularly tough on city streets. Many potholes have needed repair more than once.
JANESVILLE — You can't drive anywhere on Janesville city streets without hitting a pothole.
"They're all over," said John Whitcomb, operations director for the city's public works division.
That's why the city is encouraging resident to report them.
"We can't fix them unless we are told about them," Whitcomb said, noting department crews make pothole repairs as they notice them.
While it might not be a record year for potholes this winter, it has been a banner year, Whitcomb said.
"I can tell you it's been an active reporting season," he said.
When employees aren't out plowing, many have been out patching holes, Whitcomb said.
Potholes are created as roads deteriorate as a result of the freeze/thaw action, which is why there are more potholes this winter.
"The more moisture you get along with those cold temperatures, the worse it gets," Whitcomb said.
The half-dozen plowing events that came with rain and were followed by temperatures in the teens or colder also resulted in potholes, he said.
"That really raises havoc with the street, particularly streets nearing the end of their useful life," he said. "That's why some of the biggest problems with potholes have been on the oldest sections of streets in the city."
Though the number of workers and trucks devoted to pothole repairs varies daily, "generally this season we've had our folks out every day and a few more here and there along the way when they'll work on potholes most of their day," Whitcomb said.
Numerous potholes already have been repaired, but some patches will have to be replaced during the warmer construction season.
Still, Whitcomb thinks his department's budget will be fine.
"We're probably in good shape," he said.
The first report of potholes started in February after one snow event in December and another at the end of January.
"But once it started to snow, it didn't stop," Whitcomb said. "So it was mid-February when we really started seeing the impact of all that moisture, cold and warming."
Whitcomb expects more potholes to surface.
"This will keep up now, off and on," he said. "As things begin to warm up, some patches will come loose and rain will loosen some up. So I expect we'll have another surge (of potholes) as we get into some warmer weather."
As temperatures begin to hold steady and the freeze/thaw action goes away, the number of potholes will start to dissipate, he said.
Potholes are simply a part of life in Wisconsin, which has lower temperatures, Whitcomb said.
"We've had this type of situation before with a banner crop of potholes," he said. "I suspect in the future we'll have another season like this.''
Mar 24, 2013 at 2:48 p.m.
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Sigma - To tell the truth most of my investigation comes from life and reading your pompous posts.
Mar 24, 2013 at 10:45 a.m.
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wasp2491 - What investigating did you do to deem all the critics clueless?
Mar 24, 2013 at 10:14 a.m.
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The city is liable for any damage that results from a pothole in a city street. The damage is a direct result of their negligence. The whole "We don't know if we aren't told" line doesn't fly either. Not unless they all work from home & are complete shut-ins.
Mar 24, 2013 at 5:52 a.m.
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I LOVE how I now can turn S. onto Hwy #14 from Deerfield without my car "walking" over a ridge that the crew patched up. Thanks!
Zoom-Zoom!
Mar 24, 2013 at 5:26 a.m.
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Amazing how many road repair experts we have. Never worked for the government. Most of these critics are, as usual, upon investigation, usually clueless.
Mar 24, 2013 at 1:11 a.m.
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@Shopierehuh,are you related to wiselady? that's how they did it, in covered wagon days. check out pic above. it has a automatic feeds nowdays.no need for man to raise dump box!
Mar 24, 2013 at 12:41 a.m.
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Repair is constant because it keeps people employed and tax money rolling in. There is no way they would opt for a solution that would lay off road repair workers and not require a steady tax income.
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We can send people to the moon and do all sorts of highly advanced things. But we cant build a road to last 1 winter. Really? its not that we cant, we just dont want to.
Mar 24, 2013 at 12:09 a.m.
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Sigma40, if you think there is a better way to repair the roads, you would have a worldwide market that would make you rich beyond imagination. No road surface ever made can survive winter upon winter of freeze-thaw cycles. Repair is a constant. I suggest you consider whether you can continue to live in Wisconsin if this irritates you so much.
Mar 23, 2013 at 10:34 p.m.
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I would have gladly missed the potholes had the cones been properly placed. Like I said: only half of the pothole was within the cones. The other half extended past the cones into the lane of traffic. I'm not the only one who was forced to drive through it.
Mar 23, 2013 at 9:45 p.m.
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Poppasmurf213, when you see signage or cones it become advisable to slow down. Speed is what destroyed your wheel-tire assembly. What did you you think was causing the water to collect there, right next to warning cones?
Mar 23, 2013 at 9:41 p.m.
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Grey_ghost, the one sitting in the truck is going to pull the truck ahead when needed and he is going to raise the dump box as needed so more cold patch will slide down to the worker with the shovel. It is ideally done with two people. You make ignorant judgements.
Mar 23, 2013 at 9:36 p.m.
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"Sad thing is that these idiots fixing the pot holes create huge mounds instead of holes...." I'm sure you recognize an idiot when you see one.
Mar 23, 2013 at 9:35 p.m.
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seen city workers Wednesday, fixing pot holes. one worker sitting in the truck, watching the other working....priceless!
Mar 23, 2013 at 6:23 p.m.
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Im not unhappy with my life at all. Sorry you dont like me pointing out the truth all the time. Point is we are in a state of continual repair with negative results. How cost effective is that? It is my tax money being spent and I have to drive on these crappy roads. I have the right to complain.
Mar 23, 2013 at 5:43 p.m.
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Sigma, your a total idiot !! All you ever do is complain. If your that unhappy with your life and where you live, do us all a favor and move somewhere else.
Mar 23, 2013 at 1:21 p.m.
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@frogger: Trust me, I would have avoided them if I had known they were that large. But when they are poorly marked, there is a car in the left lane so I can't swerve to miss them, and the fact that they were covered by water and not distinguishable between wet pavement and a giant falling home it's hard to not hit them. After I hit them: yes I avoid that lane COMPLETELY. I saw full size semis slowing down to avoid them during daylight.
Mar 23, 2013 at 12:16 p.m.
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River St. And Randall Ave seem to be the worst in my experience. The patches aren't working. They really need to re-do the whole road. I realize it's not very cost effective, but they just fixed the ones on River St. last summer and they're worse now than they were before. How cost effective is it to fix an entire street of potholes once a year?
Mar 23, 2013 at 11:57 a.m.
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pappasmurf- you just need to watch better for them. I drive by everyday and seem to miss all of it.
Almost hit 2x times by people going from Walmart and got as far as Batteries plus. People pulling into road when TRAFFIC is flowing and in the road RIGHT in front of them. Pull your heads out!!
Mar 23, 2013 at 10:16 a.m.
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Sigma, why don't you donate some of your McDonald fries to fill up those pot holes ? I'm sure those so called " idiots " you refer to, would be glad to get your expert advise.
Mar 23, 2013 at 10:04 a.m.
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janesvillean - 90% of the time no they are not. When they start to settle down they go fast and then become a hole again. So you might have a margin of like 2 days where it is actually flat. They need to some up with a new better method of fixing the roads.
Mar 23, 2013 at 9:57 a.m.
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how about replacing the entire stretch of ramp that connects Willard with Afton rd.!!! It is one screwed up mess!!!!!! huge boulders that used to be the road. There are stretches of rd. in Afghanistan that are better than that road!!!
Mar 23, 2013 at 5:28 a.m.
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Sigma ... you do realize that the "mounds" are eventually leveled by traffic, right?
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ChsMkr, I did see that truck in use, either in the spring or fall of 2012.
Mar 22, 2013 at 10:34 p.m.
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Sad thing is that these idiots fixing the pot holes create huge mounds instead of holes....which is just as bad and sometimes worse. All the time and effort along with our tax dollars spent on "fixing" and nothing changes.
Mar 22, 2013 at 9:21 p.m.
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Yup. Potholes everywhere. I wish they would have put up better signage or at least closed the far east lane of Milton Avenue in front of Big Lots a month ago when the potholes started to appear. 2 huge potholes and the city had 2 8 inch cones "indicating" there might be a pothole. I swerved to miss the cones, and surprise surpise!! The 2 cones were only indicating where the halfway mark of the 3 ft pothole was, because the rest of it was hiding in a huge puddle. I still managed to hit the unmarked 1.5 ft of nothingness. Yup. Blown tire and damaged rim. Nothing like taking the kids out for supper on a Sunday night and blowing out a tire. Kids not happy, and neither was my wallet. And 2 weeks later the city decided to put out a "rough road" barricade style sign instead of the 2 tiny cones that moved closer to the curb with each passing car & puddle splash.
Dinner with the kids: $20
New tire: $89
New rim: $25
Traumatizing a 1 1/2 y.o. and a 4 y.o.:Priceless
Mar 22, 2013 at 7:04 p.m.
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I wonder how they handle those potholes disguised as man-hole covers?
Mar 22, 2013 at 4:59 p.m.
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I didn't see any mention in the article as to whether the Streets Dept is utilizing that fancy new truck they had a few years back. I seem to recall the driver may have been able to stay in the cab and it allowed them to fill holes many times faster. I suggest a follow-up article as to how that machine and process worked.
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