Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Pothole Emergency Declared City Plans Quick-Fix, Short-Term Measure To Repair Crumbling Streets

Mayor Jack Geraghty made official on Monday what Spokane’s drivers already knew.

“We have what amounts to a pothole emergency right now,” he said. “The streets, in many instances, are falling apart.”

While city officials say they have no money for a permanent fix, Transportation Director Bruce Steele told the City Council about plans for a temporary mend.

In spring and summer months, Steele said, street crews usually fix potholes using a method known as “grinding and patching.” A small section of asphalt around a hole is removed and refilled, leaving a small patch in the street.

This spring, instead, crews will fill a pothole and then resurface a larger stretch of road with a thin layer of asphalt.

The grinding method takes longer to do and lasts about five years, Steele said.

The thin overlay is quicker but usually lasts only two years. He added that the sorry state of the streets makes the switch necessary.

“It’ll help get us through this critical situation we’re in right now,” Steele said.

Crews will resurface 20 miles of streets with the overlay method compared with the eight miles fixed last year with the grinding method, he said.

Street crews have filled 1,100 potholes since Jan. 1 with “cold patches,” a mixture of gravel and asphalt that is a short-term fix.

Street crews patched 1,949 potholes in 1995 and 2,649 in 1996.

Steele said he expects the city will fix at least 4,000 potholes this year, adding that 1987 was a record year with 5,000 potholes.

The street-repair program will cost about $350,000, Steele said, adding that he plans to divert dollars from the $1.5 million ice- and snow-removal fund.

Also Monday, the council adopted a resolution calling for improved race relations throughout city offices.

City leaders want department heads and other employees to find ways to improve the atmosphere for minorities inside City Hall.

“It isn’t just words,” Geraghty said. “We’re not interested in people accepting this statement, putting it on the wall and saying ‘We’re done with it.’

“There’s much to do.”

, DataTimes