Chicago Area Local News

CHICAGO (CBS) ― Drivers across the city are sinking into potholes and sinking into despair about how soon they come back, as CBS 2's Mike Parker reports.

There aren't as many potholes in the city this winter as last, but motorists are reminded that pothole repair patches may in some cases last only a few days, officials said Monday.

Between December and January, crews filled more than 150,000 potholes in the city, and the average is hovering at 75,000 a month, said Chicago Department of Transportation spokesman Brian Steele. But the numbers are far better than last year, when the average number of potholes filled stood at 80,000 – one of the worst figures in a decade.

"Hopefully, it won't continue to increase as we see the weather warm up," Steele said.

Potholes are caused when water gets into pavement, then freezes and expands. The area contracts when it thaws, only to quickly freeze again. Last year, the city actually had more of the freeze-thaw cycles.

City officials locate potholes by taking complaints from the 311 non-emergency line, and developing daily maps of pothole locations which go to crews in the field. The crews fill 3,000 to 4,000 potholes per day in the city, but new calls of potholes are coming in constantly, Steele said.

"Over the weekend we had a couple of hundred 311 calls about new pothole locations and currently there are about 4100 open potholes in the 311 system," said Steele.

"Suburbs, they don't have the streets we have. We have truck traffic," said Mayor Daley.

Steele said potholes are considered a public safety issue, and the department wants to ensure the safety of all motorists. But he pointed out that pothole repairs are temporary and may fail over time.

"The material that we use is a high-performance coal patch material," Steele said. "It's formulated to have good adhesion to the existing pavement surface, so we've had very good luck with the product over the last three years that we've been using it," Steele said. "However, a pothole repair, by its very definition, is a temporary repair. Some repairs can last a couple months, some can last a couple weeks, some might last just a few days."

To ensure that the roads are as safe as possible, the department uses the material that has proven to work well for filling potholes, then begins street resurfacing projects when the warmer months arrive. 

The city's standard 'cold patch' system involves a driver, two workers and a foreman for a total of four. But there is a new technology out there that cuts that number to one.

On the web, you'll find several U.S. companies, including "Total Patcher," marketing a new system that's now being used by a number of cities. Instead of the cold patch, one driver in a truck can lay down new asphalt over potholes. The repairs can in some cases last for years, compared to 'cold patches,' which can disintegrate in days. The Illinois Department of Transportation likes it and hopes to expand its use.

But a spokesman for the city says Chicago tested one truck last winter and it rated a 'thumbs-down.'

"It created a mess in the street and honestly it was not as quick as our pothole crews," said Steele.

So don't expect the familiar sight of four workers for every pothole to vanish anytime soon, at least not in the city.

With the city's revenue in a crunch right now, those big trucks might be too pricey anyway. IDOT paid more than $100,000 apiece for the four they're now using.

You can help the city by calling the 311 non-emergency number when you see a pothole. The city uses your calls to create a map for work crews.

If you hit a pothole and damage your car, you can file a claim with the city. It helps if you have a police report, and if you take photos of the damage to your car and the pothole. Steele said those who damage their cars should file claims at this Web site: http://www.chicityclerk.com/claims.php

CBS 2's Mike Parker contributed to this story.

(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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