Winter Weather Produced Pothole Woes

Things aren’t looking too good this spring for Phil Barto. His antagonists - water and the weather - are worshipped like gods in some cultures, and his friends are complainers. Barto’s business is potholes, and business is brisk.

“We’re getting between 30 and 50 calls a day” from people complaining about potholes, said Barto, county road engineer. The city is getting a similar number.

This winter’s weather - sometimes unusually cold, sometimes unseasonably warm - wreaked havoc on county roads. Potholes are formed when water fills tiny cracks in the pavement, then turns to ice and expands, breaking up the pavement.

Some north-south arterials - such as Maple and Ash - have cracked like eggs. Indian Trail is particularly pothole prone.

City and county road maintenance crews are actively looking for potholes and have even opened a special pothole reporting phone line. Yes, government is asking for complaints.

Though frequent winter snowplowing drained county road funds, Barto said potholes are a priority and will be repaired. The county overspent its $1.5 million plowing budget by more than $200,000. The city budget was not available.

“We have to patch potholes, so it’s not a question,” said Barto.

Prime pothole patching periods are in the summer, when asphalt is hot. Asphalt factories have not yet opened, so city crews are using recycled asphalt that is mixed in the back of trucks, said city pothole personnel. The county is now using a weak, cold-patch mixture that may not even last until June.

Nevertheless, the county public works department wants to hear where the sneaky things are. Both city and county officials ask that people determine if the potholes are on city or county roads.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: REPORT A POTHOLE Know of a pesky pothole? If it’s inside the Spokane city limits, call 625-7733. If it’s on a Spokane County roadway, call 458-2547.