SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) – After a brutal winter terrorized Utah roads, the Salt Lake City Public Service Team put extra focus and effort into repairing potholes “Pothole Palooza 2023.”
Pothole Palooza officially kicked off on Monday, April 10, and wrapped up on Friday, April 14. Throughout that time, Salt Lake City Public Services received 106 total requests to repair specific potholes. Overall, over 6,000 potholes were filled within the five-day span.
The harsh record-breaking winter tore apart Salt Lake City’s roads. According to Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall, 17,000 potholes were filled in 2022. She said since the start of January 2023, over 19,000 potholes have already been filled leading into Pothole Palooza.
Potholes throughout the state have been exceptionally bad this year thanks to the roller coaster winter season. As snow water repeatedly found its way into small cracks in the road, froze overnight then thawed as temperatures rose, potholes formed at a much higher rate than in past, drier winters.
The Utah Department of Transportation has been taking advantage of dry days in Utah’s weather to repair potholes on their own operated roads throughout the winter.
As of mid-March, UDOT had reported spending 25% more on patching potholes than on average in the last three years. At the time, UDOT spokesman John Gleason said UDOT spends under $1 million on pothole repairs and this year they spent close to $1.2 million.
Salt Lake City has an interactive map where residents can track the Public Service team’s pothole-filling progress as well as report any new potholes that need to be filled. UDOT has a similar map and pothole and report form on their website for state and federal highways such as State Street and Redwood Road.
