Potholes in Fresno roads: what is being done about them?
FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – Potholes are popping up all around Fresno and the city is trying to keep up with its more than 1,800 miles of roads that continue to cause damage to vehicles.
Fresno’s local mechanics have been busy with pothole-related car repairs this year.
“We’ll normally see one or two that can be directly related to potholes and California road conditions in general once a week,” President of Aram’s Auto Repair Center Billy Catching said.
Fresno’s roads seem to have more obstacles to avoid, but potholes are not always avoidable.
“The last storm that came through we had a particular vehicle that hit a pothole that was so large it physically broke one of the lower control arms causing the wheel to fold up into the car, breaking an axle. Typically, about eight out of every 10 cars on the road in California are actually out of alignment just in general due to road conditions,” Catching said.
Pothole repairs can set drivers back anywhere from $100 to $2,000. Fresno’s Assistant Director of Public Works said the city is trying to be on top of the gaps in the roads.
“We have over 1,840 miles of road network to maintain, so it’s an extensive network, we have teams of people out working on that today, and our goal is to get them filled and get these roads back into serviceable condition as quickly as possible,” Assistant Director of Public Works Brian Russell said.
Russell also explained that Fresno’s recent weather patterns are to blame for the uptick in potholes.
“The weather has a lot to do with our pothole issue here in Fresno. We’ve had several storms with dry periods in between. We go out and start patching these potholes and then another storm hits. That combined with vehicle traffic will lead to pothole conditions,” Russell said.
The city said it has responded to 860 pothole repairs since April 17. However, since April 14, 169 repair requests have been submitted.
“It’s difficult to be able to know where every single pothole is and so we do rely on residents to report potholes as they see them. The City of Fresno Residents can do that by calling 311 or they can download the FresGo app and report it there,” Russell said.
