Greensburg Department of Public Works out in full force to patch potholes
GREENSBURG, Pa. (KDKA) -- While some people may like the month of February, it is certainly not the most wonderful time of the year for potholes.
Potholes can open on almost every road in our region at any time and can be a real nuisance to cars and trucks.
The last few winters in western Pennsylvania have given residents rather mild weather, but this season, we have been harkening back to the chillier days of yesteryear.
And with that cold, plus a little warm-up recently, conditions are just right for potholes to form.
No one knows this better than Thomas Bell, the superintendent of the Department of Public Works for Greensburg. Bell says that this season has been a rough one for potholes.
"We have about 55 miles of road in the city of Greensburg and about 22 miles of alleyways that we maintain," Bell said. "And all the crews, weekly, go through them to monitor them and find the potholes. And they do find them, there's no doubt about that."
What Bell's crews do on the streets is a temporary fix, filling holes as they open with a non-heated stone and liquid material. Once this material is applied to a hole and is allowed to sit, it hardens, thus providing the patch.
Crews in Greensburg have patched over 100 potholes in the last two weeks alone.
It seems that when one hole is patched, it is on to the next one that just opened, even if that new pothole is on a state road like Otterman Street or Pittsburgh Street that runs through the city.
"The way PennDOT is, they have a lot of miles of road to cover," Bell said. "So, if there is something on their roads and we can help them out and patch, we do. But realistically, it's their roads, it's their responsibility, but again, it's just being neighborly to take care of them and help them out."
If you spot a pothole in Greensburg, call the public works department at (724) 838-4344 and report it. Bell and his team ask for patience and will dispatch a crew to fill the hole.
