With an increase in temperatures this time of year comes an inevitable increase in the number of potholes visible along Yakima’s streets and alleyways. Finding and fixing all of the potholes that appear is a daunting task, but community members can help the City identify and repair pavement problems as quickly and efficiently as possible.
“The more eyes we can get out there looking for potholes the better,” said Streets & Traffic Manager Joe Rosenlund. “When community members pitch in and report potholes, the chances of our crews being able to respond and get the issues addressed go way up.”
The location of potholes can be reported using the City’s “Yak Back” feature, which can be found at the following link – https://www.yakimawa.gov/yak-back/, by calling the City’s Street Repair Hotline at 576-6713, or by e-mailing Streets Division Supervisor Dan Bigby at daniel.bigby@yakimawa.gov.
The City strives to repair a pothole within one working day of its being reported. However, weather, availability of resources, and other unforeseen factors can result in it taking longer to get potholes fixed.
Potholes occur this time of year primarily due to the “freeze-thaw cycle” that occurs when precipitation, in the form of rain or snow, seeps into small cracks in asphalt pavement. When that water freezes, it expands, thereby making small cracks bigger. As cars drive over the larger cracks, asphalt pavement begins to loosen, thereby creating potholes.
“City crews are constantly on the lookout for potholes,” said Rosenlund. “But they can’t be everywhere. Any help our community members can provide in locating potholes is greatly appreciated and will make the job of fixing them go faster and easier,” said Rosenlund.
Because asphalt plants significantly reduce operations during winter due to limited demand for their product, fixes made to potholes now are only temporary. Final repairs will be made later in the spring once asphalt plants resume full production.