What is being done about potholes?

Driving around can be a bit of a hazard right now due to many potholes taking over the streets, and it’s all due to the weather.

“What happens with potholes is you end up with cracks in the asphalt through degradation of the pavement,” said Brian Cardon, street superintendent for Idaho Falls. “And so, you have moisture working down into the cracks in the pavement. And then the freeze-thaw cycle causes the pavement to break up. And the more wet weather we have, the more freeze-thaw cycles we have, the worse it is.”

Idaho Falls crews have been working to repair the potholes, but the freeze-thaw cycle is not helping.

“The crews that plow the streets are the same crews that fix potholes,” Cardon said. “So as we have time in between those storms that we’re not dealing with snow issues, we’ve had people with our cold mix out filling potholes as well.”

Some of the major streets that have potholes, such as Broadway and Yellowstone, can’t be fixed by the city because they are maintained by the Idaho Transportation Department. Those also include Sunnyside Road from Yellowstone to Interstate 15 and Holmes from Yellowstone to Highway 20. The city says ITD crews are expected to begin repairing those Monday night, but if wet weather continues more potholes could be on the horizon.

“I mean we can go out and repair. If we continue with wet weather, freeze-thaw cycles, they tend to pop back out,” Cardon said. “I’m hoping we’ll continue with some drier temps, or some drier weather and warmer temps that help with that, help those stay in until we can get a permanent fix when the hot plants open.”

If you would like to report a pothole you can do so on the city’s website or by calling the city street division. Its number is 208-612-8490.