AREA ROADS Street crews work to keep potholes filled

More permanent repairs with asphalt will begin in the spring.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
Potholes abound on streets in the Mahoning and Shenango valleys, but maintenance crews say they're doing the best they can to fill the pesky divots.
Bob Natale, New Castle public works director, said filling potholes throughout the city is the top priority for street crews, with four crews out daily.
He said not only are potholes numerous, they seem to be deeper than in previous years. Most departments use a mixture called cold patch, a temporary fix until spring, when the asphalt mixture called hot patch is available.
"Potholes aren't hard to find," Natale said. "The guys get to work in the morning and ask where to go. There are potholes right outside the [city] garage door."
Natale said the street crews try to fill potholes with attention to the worst ones first. Motorists call city hall to let them know about the biggest and deepest.
"We just try to keep them filled in so people's tires aren't damaged," he said. "There's no way to predict where they'll pop up next or how long the patch will last. We just have to keep up with it."
Buying the patch
Gary Phillips, village administrator of Leetonia in Columbiana County, said his street department's biggest problem is getting the patch from suppliers. Street department employees drove to Canton for a load of patch this week because their usual suppliers were out.
"The potholes are such a big problem because we had all the rain first, then the snow and freezing rain," he said. "This week the weather's been good to get out and fill the potholes. You have to be careful driving, though, because the potholes are deeper now. The snow and ice filled them in."
Department heads in Youngstown and Warren said they have not had a problem buying patch from their regular suppliers.
Joe Mastropietro, Youngstown general foreman, said city street crews are "just trudging along," filling in the potholes as they appear. "The ground freezes, and the ice pushes the pavement up, then you have potholes," he said.
Dave Mazzochi, maintenance director for the Operations Department in Warren, said there were four crews out Friday filling potholes with cold patch. The department picked up two loads of patch at the end of the week.
He said the crews patch potholes on the same schedule as snow removal, working main streets first, then secondary roads and alleys.
"The ice didn't help us or any of the cities," he said. "When we get that freezing rain, it's best to get the ice off the streets as quickly as possible. The potholes are just everywhere. They just pop up whenever and wherever they please."