SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio Transportation and Capital Improvements said it has fixed 80,000 potholes over the last fiscal year.
The fiscal year ends Friday and TCI said it fixes about 480 per day, on average. Officials said 80,000 is a new record for the second year in a row.
KSAT 12 was at the celebratory 80,000th pothole on Thursday.
Q: What did TCI change to reach a new record?
“We are taking a proactive approach, and the more potholes that we know about — we get responses from residents — the more we can repair. We are guaranteeing if we get a call from 311, within two business days, we will have that pothole repaired,” said Paul Berry, TCI spokesman.
Berry said the accomplishment is in part due to the 16 pothole patrol units who drive around the city and fix the road issues.
Each pothole takes about 30 minutes to repair and costs $40.
Q: 80,000 potholes seem like a lot. Is this an infrastructure problem?
“The material works fine under normal circumstances, except in South Texas,” Berry said.
Berry said the problem is the South Texas weather.
“There are no normal circumstances when it comes to the weather. We get extreme heat, and then within an hour, we get heavy rains. That asphalt expands. When it rains, the water seeps through. It gets to the ground and that’s how you form a pothole,” Berry said.
Q: What’s the goal for next year?
“Next year, every day, 16 crews will be out there. We’re hoping we can break the record again next year, but we probably won’t be able to unless we get more calls from residents,” Berry said.
Berry said it’s up to the people of San Antonio to call, text or even tweet about the potholes and issues they see so they can be fixed as soon as possible.