PBOT's 'March Madness' effort fills 1,800 potholes after severe winter weather

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – The Portland Bureau of Transportation completed its two-week “March Madness” campaign to fill potholes across the city after January’s Arctic blast covered the region with snow and ice, the bureau announced Thursday.

During the campaign, seven crews from PBOT exclusively worked on pothole repairs and paving projects between March 4-15 -- with four of the crews focusing on streets east of 82nd Avenue where there are hundreds of potholes, PBOT said.

According to PBOT, crews filled 1,800 potholes and repaired 77% of the streets in East Portland during the campaign. Crews also repaired over 1,000 lane miles of streets, which is about 21% of the total miles of streets in Portland.

PBOT said January’s ice storms heavily impacted road conditions and they received triple the normal volume of pothole reports, with 800 reports received in two weeks.

As PBOT worked on road repairs, Ore. Gov. Tina Kotek requested a federal major disaster declaration on March 12 to help local governments, tribes, and certain nonprofits with damage from January's storms -- noting a Preliminary Public Assistance Damage Assessment totals $48,485,115.

"Our fast-acting PBOT crews have delivered for the public yet again," Transportation Director Millicent D. Williams said. "PBOT crews are on the front lines for the public during severe weather emergencies and every day as they respond to and repair road hazards across the city. Our staff take great satisfaction from repairing our streets and serving our community. The kind words and positive comments they received from the public throughout this event further underscored the value of their work."

Potholes are inevitable after freezing temperatures and form after water enters cracks in asphalt and expands underneath the pavement surface, PBOT explained. The problem can become more widespread after a severe storm such as the Arctic blast in January, especially as snowplows and other heavy vehicles including buses and fire apparatus with heavy chains hit the road.

Between Jan. 24 and Feb. 26, crews filled nearly 3,000 potholes across the city and have a goal of filling potholes within 30 days of them being reported, PBOT said.

The bureau asks Portlanders to continue reporting potholes as crews work through a backlog of reports.

Pothole reports can be made through PBOT’s website, via email, or by calling the bureau’s 24/7 maintenance dispatch hotline. PBOT also has an online pothole map with previous reports.

Officials say potholes, averaging around one square foot in size, cost about $300 each to repair, while preventative maintenance costs between 55 cents to $2.25 per square foot.

PBOT says the city’s network pavement condition index is on the cusp of a “poor” rating, meaning most pavement repairs require a deeper treatment which can include road reconstruction.

According to PBOT, bringing the city’s pavement into good condition would cost approximately $4.5 billion.