KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Winter 2019 was hard on metro roads and there were plenty of potholes to prove how bad conditions were.
Public works crews in Missouri and Kansas spent a lot of time filling potholes and sealing cracks to prevent future flaws.
"It was a rough year. We had a long, cold winter. We were constantly pushing snow around, and when moisture gets into the asphalt and it freezes, expands and bam, a pothole is born," explained Dave Reno with Kansas City, Kansas Public Works.
Reno said roughly 28,000 potholes were filled in 2019, and the city needed 40 percent more asphalt to get the job done.
Over in Kansas City, Missouri, the pesky potholes kept crews busy as well.
“If you look at 311 requests, we’ve had about 18,800 since January of 2019. Our crews have patched all but 415 of those," Maggie Green said.
Last week, Kansas City, Missouri, city crews were patching potholes days after a big snow storm hit the area.
Green explained the city was being proactive about how potholes were being addressed.
“Getting ahead, trying to get to zero 311 requests. We’re also doing things like crack sealing, which is patching the cracks in the pavement. Doing more pavement care or resurfacing work to help seal out all of those cracks and keep the water out which is the issue with potholes," she said.
Public works departments in Kansas City, Kansas, and Kansas City, Missouri, urge people to report potholes to 311.
