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The City of San Antonio has launched its annual Pothole Patrol Blitz campaign and is committing to repairing potholes across the city. This is the tenth year for this effort to accelerate street repairs.
Art Reinhardt is director of the Public Works department and is asking residents to call 311 to report the broken pavement and help them meet their goal of filling 10,000 potholes in April.
“First the crews will come out. They’ll make a nice clean cut ripping out the area. They’ll clean it out with the equipment. They’ll put a sealant down and then they’ll put the coal patch, pack it in and move on.”
Reinhardt guarantees one to two business days for crews to respond. Depending on the size of the pothole, allow an hour or two for completion of the repair. Workers are prepared to fill 80,000 potholes across the city this year.
“Generally, when we’re talking potholes, we’re talking three feet by three feet or less,” said Reinhardt. “So, about the smaller ones that we can come out with our two-man patch truck and fill those in.”
Paula Stallcup, the director of 311 customer service for San Antonio, said potholes are the easiest thing you can call in, and she encourages residents to use the city’s mobile application.
“All of your eyes that are out here, pay attention to the street. I was over in the Medical Center yesterday and called in a couple. Actually, I put it in through my mobile app. Go download it,” said Stallcup. "It’s free, and it takes less than 30 seconds to submit your pothole. All together, we keep our city beautiful.”
The first 100 residents to report a pothole received an exclusive Pothole Patrol Fiesta medal designed by local artist Adrian Jimenez at Wednesday's kick-off.
More events are planned this month to encourage residents to report a pothole on residential and arterial streets in San Antonio.