Odd weather keeps pothole patchers busy

Call to report large potholes, the county
engineer urges the public.

YOUNGSTOWN — Because of constant freeze and thaw cycles breaking apart pavement, this winter has been especially troublesome for motorists dodging potholes.

The county has been aggressively trying to fill them, the Mahoning County engineer said.

“Each time, it loosens the [paving] material up, and with the heavy rains, it’s washing the material out” of the holes, said Richard Marsico, county engineer.

“We’ve been out there patching them. We want the people to report the bad ones,” to the engineer’s office, he said Thursday. “The large ones we want to make sure we get out and take care of” immediately, he added.

The engineer’s telephone number for problems on county roads is (330) 799-1581.

“We have a crew that just goes out to catch the bad ones, and then we work road sections with other crews,” Marsico said. “We continually try to keep potholes filled. Sometimes, we might fill a hole in the morning, and with the rain or freeze and thaw, the hole might be back in the afternoon.”

Marsico said at least four to six county crews are filling potholes daily with a temporary patch, which will be replaced with regular asphalt when it becomes available this spring.

Crews from the engineer’s office drive daily to a Canton manufacturing plant to pick up a product called “hot-cold patch” that stays in place somewhat better than conventional cold patch, Marsico said. The Canton plant is the sole maker of this product, he added.