Governor announces attack on potholes
An attack on the potholes that plague Pennsylvania motorists was announced Thursday in Harrisburg by Gov. Tom Wolf and Leslie Richards, the state Department of Transportation secretary.
Resurface PA is a new statewide initiative to accelerate repaving work on interstates and state roads.
“This is a problem that plagues Pennsylvanians every year, but after this winter season we are accelerating repairs and much-needed projects to improve travel in the short-term and in the future,” Wolf said.
The governor directed PennDOT to dedicate as many resources as possible to pothole and pavement repairs, a news release from Wolf's office said.
PennDOT has prioritized $22.3 million for immediate pothole repair statewide, which translates to almost 30,000 tons of patching material, the release said.
An additional $7 million will be spent on seven interstate maintenance projects covering potholes and other repairs on 78 miles of roads this year.
Erin Waters-Trasatt, PennDOT press secretary, said in District 10, which includes Butler, Armstrong, Clarion, Indiana and Jefferson counties, $1 million has been earmarked for pothole repairs in the Resurface PA project.
The ongoing work will be done as weather permits, and is expected to be complete by June 30, Waters-Trasatt said.
She said outside of Resurface PA, there are 31 total projects worth about $99.6 million under construction or anticipated this year in Butler County.
“One example is a project covering roughly 33 miles of Interstate 79 that went out for bid in October 2017 and is anticipated to finish this fall,” Waters-Trasatt said.
Statewide, 85 interstate projects covering more than 775 miles are under way or expected to begin or finish in 2018, the news release said.
Through the end of April, PennDOT crews had used nearly 23,000 tons of asphalt repairing potholes statewide, which is equal to the weight of about 1,500 PennDOT dump trucks, said the release.
By the same time last year, PennDOT had used 15,418 tons of asphalt and 14,673 in 2016.
The long winter season and its dramatic temperature swings are to blame for the proliferation of potholes, Wolf's release said.
Residents can report potholes and other highway maintenance concerns on state routes at www.customercare.penndot.gov or by calling PennDOT's toll-free hot line at 1-800-FIX-ROAD (1-800-349-7623).
