11:21 AM: Megan sent that photo on Tuesday, saying, “This sadly just happened to me after hitting one of the many potholes on the eastbound West Seattle viaduct. Beware drivers!” The potholes also had been mentioned in comment discussion earlier in the day, so we asked the SDOT communications team about repair plans. Here’s the reply from spokesperson Ethan Bergerson:
The large pothole in the left eastbound lane of the West Seattle Bridge between the 1st Ave S and 4th Ave S offramps was reported to us earlier this week.
Our maintenance crews put in a temporary repair yesterday, and we are planning to return today to complete additional work today. We’ve been scheduling our work midday in order to minimize the impact to traffic flow during peak times.
People can report potholes by calling 206-684-ROAD, emailing 684-ROAD@seattle.gov, or by using the Find It, Fix It app. In 2019, we filled about 18,000 potholes on Seattle streets. With the exception of the period during and shortly after last year’s snowstorms, we responded to 90% of requests to fill potholes within 3 business days and also filled many potholes before they were reported to us.
While we are always doing the best we can to respond to potholes quickly, we need the public to understand the challenges we face and why potholes will continue to appear throughout the winter. Freezing weather causes significant damage to our roads and we typically experience a spike in pothole reports after it snows. As the snow melted earlier this month, water found its way into cracks in the pavements. Then, when the temperatures dropped and the trapped water re-froze the expanding ice forced apart fissures in the pavement, literally tearing the road apart from the inside. It can sometimes take a few weeks for the damage to show itself as heavy trucks and buses drive over these fissures, breaking off pieces of pavement to form larger holes.
Winter weather poses continual challenges even when it’s not freezing because asphalt doesn’t bind as well to the surrounding pavement when it’s too cold or wet. So many of the potholes we fill now will likely need to be repaired again in the coming months. If additional snowstorms are forecasted, maintenance crews will need to shift their focus from potholes to preparing the roads for snow and ice, which can slow progress.
You can see the pothole-report map here. P.S. It’s not just potholes – SDOT is where to send reports of other road problems, too – here’s the info. But if it’s urgent, like a tree blocking a road right now or other immediate hazard, 206-386-1218.
1:48 PM: Added above, two photos provided by SDOT.
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