Jenna Crowe

Staff Writer

Potholes blanket streets throughout Pocatello which can lead to large amounts of car damage and crashes – what is the city doing about it?

These cracks in the asphalt are caused by the freezing temperatures of winter.

Asphalt is oil-based, so the oil will freeze and crack due to the cold.

When water gets into the crack, it and the oil in the asphalt freeze, which continues to crack the roads, causing potholes.

“We can patch a hole in the morning, but if there’s more snow or rain it can crack and reappear that evening,” Street Operations Superintendent Tom Kirkman said. “Recurring holes aren’t always from negligence.”

At this time, pothole repairs are only temporary.

In the warmer months, the Street Operations Shop will use a stable hot mix asphalt to repair roads, but all the plants that make the hot mix are closed for the season.

Since there is no hot mix available, the Street Operations Shop uses an oil-based mix, but due to the large amount of water in the potholes the oil-based mix isn’t permanent.

“Right now we are going over patches over and over again,” Kirkman said. “Potholes are like weeds – they pop up everywhere and you deal with them when you see them.”

He hopes to start permanent repairs at the end of March or beginning of April, but permanent repairs hinge on when the hot mix plants open again.

Within Pocatello, the worst potholes are sometimes on the fastest roads, such as South 5th Avenue. Due to the high rates of speed, the potholes in the 45 mph zone of the road are very dangerous and can cause large amounts of damage.

Kirkman and his office are watching that road closely.

“Be very aware while driving,” Kirkman said. “If you see standing water in the road, there’s a good chance that’s a pothole.”

Potholes can cause major damage to cars, motorcycles and bikes – repairs to motor vehicles typically involve tires, shock absorbers, suspension systems, struts, rims, wheel alignment and catalytic converters.

Kirkman encourages citizens to call the Street Operations Shop to report potholes throughout town; the number is (208) 234-6250.

Some roads in town will have to be repaired by the Idaho Transportation Department because of the state’s jurisdiction; these roads are the interstate, Yellowstone Avenue, Garrett Way and parts of Oak Street.

While citizens may have the ability to repair some of these potholes themselves, Kirkman discourages it and asks citizens to be patient until the warmer months.

“The stuff we’re using this time of year is very expensive and we don’t want anybody standing out in the middle of the road without proper safety apparel,” Kirkman said. “If they just call us, we’d be happy to fix it.”