Mayor Jessup Declares War on Potholes

From the mayor’s office:

Feb. 20, 2o14

Operation Fix ‘Em begins tomorrow
Mayor Jessup declares war on potholes, demands weekly update on repairs

Lawrence Mayor Dean Jessup has declared war on potholes and has scheduled the first skirmish of Operation Fix ‘Em for tomorrow and Saturday – weather permitting.

“Motorists who travel through Lawrence are understandably frustrated by the countless potholes that have appeared throughout our city. I share their frustration,” Jessup said. “Now that it appears that the worst part of the worst winter we’ve had in 30 years is finally behind us, we must contend with holes that have pockmarked our streets.”

“Just as we mobilized our city workers to plow the streets over the past 10 weeks, we’re mobilizing these same folks over the next 10 weeks for Operation Fix ‘Em. If we need to call in extra help, we’ll do that too.”

Potholes occur when water seeps beneath and weakens the pavement. Traffic adds to the problem. And this year, with snowfall of more than 50 inches, even more water than usual has gotten under the pavement and the heavy trucks and  other equipment used to remove snow have added pressure.

Public Works Director Bruce Northern said that his crews have been making temporary repairs but those that are made this week and beyond will be permanent. Normally, asphalt plants are not yet producing hot-mix asphalt for permanent repairs, so the city has no choice but to use cold asphalt to temporarily repair potholes.

“The people running asphalt plants recognize that cities across Central Indiana are experiencing more potholes than usual, and they’ve agreed to begin production on the hot-mix asphalt immediately so repairs made during Operation Fix ‘Em should be permanent,” Northern said.

The work is scheduled to kick off tomorrow. “We’ll be out there as early and as often as the weather allows,” Northern said, “but motorists should be aware that repairs cannot be made if the snow melt or more precipitation leaves water in the holes.”
Mayor Jessup added: “If you’re out driving and see our crews filling the potholes, please slow down to ensure our workers’ safety.”

The mayor called on Northern to produce a weekly Pothole Report every Wednesday for the next 10 weeks so that the mayor and the public will know of the progress being made on repairs. The report will be posted on the city’s website, www.cityoflawrence.org.

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