Fort Wayne Street Department working to limit pot hole season

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) — As fast as they form, the Fort Wayne Street Department is working to fill pot holes on city roads.

Pot hole season comes every year. Recent weather with last week’s big snow storm and a cold, dry week this week creates the right mixture for pot holes to form.

Moisture gets into cracks in the road and freezes. When it thaws, it expands.

“Right behind this freeze and thaw, [we] had a little cold weather, [we] had our blades out for the snow. Once we put them blades down it kind of brings up some of our older asphalt. So, right after things get a little better and the roads clear, it’s pot hole time,” Assistant Street Commissioner Trent Hogue said.

Hogue told WANE 15 they still have trucks set for plowing and salting the roads, and also have 8 trucks they’re sending around to patch pot holes.

It’s that time of the year where the Street Department crew has to multi-task. They are watching the weather, pre-treating roads and salting/plowing when needed, but at the same time they are trying to fill pot holes that pop up on their radar.

“It’s true. It’s a tricky balance,” Hogue said. “Like you said, you’ve got the snow, you’ve got the temperatures you’ve got to keep watching out for. At the same time, as we put the salt down, we know the salt is kind of what’s bringing up the pot holes. So, it’s kind of tick for tack. But at the same time, we’ll get out and do what we can. Evenings – if it freezes again, if we have the snow, whatever – we’ll just get back out and deal with that again.”

Hogue added that they rely on the public’s help to quickly locate pot holes that they don’t find themselves.

If anyone knows of a stretch of a certain road or one specific pot hole they think needs repaired, they can call the city’s 311 line and report it. The message will be forwarded to the Street Department.