Montrose, CO — City of Montrose streets crews are out this week actively repairing potholes on roadways around the city. Recent winter weather has created many new potholes and the public is encouraged to report them by calling the Public Works office or by using the "A Better Montrose" app.
As the weather warms during the day and remains cool at night, the freeze/thaw process causes the formation of new potholes. Heavy traffic can cause these potholes to worsen more quickly, creating significant hazards for motorists. City crews have been working to repair potholes at all hours of the day and night to help minimize traffic impacts.
During the winter months, the city's streets crews fill potholes on a regular basis, with one crew normally assigned to repair work one day each week. As springtime approaches, the pothole crew will increase the frequency of repair work to two or three days per week. Repair activities are restricted by snowfall and snow removal because the same crew that is tasked with repairing potholes is also responsible for snow removal.
"Our crew is strategic with the time of day that the pothole repair work is done," said Public Works Manager Jim Scheid. "The afternoon is the best time to apply the pothole patch because the holes are as warm and dry as possible, but this is very obstructive to traffic flows, especially on our primary routes like Main St. and Townsend Ave."
Scheid said the crew will repair the potholes on major city street routes during early morning hours starting at 3 a.m., then move on to potholes reported on minor routes after about 6 a.m.
The "A Better Montrose" app, available for download at CityOfMontrose.org/ABM, is a tool that Public Works supervisors check regularly for pothole repair requests. Each time a request is made, the specific pothole is added to a master list that the crew uses to direct its work.
To report potholes by phone, call the Public Works office at 970.240.1480.
For more city news visit: CityOfMontrose.org.