New Jersey Transportation commissioner Kris Kolluri has announced that NJDOT will continue its aggressive efforts to repair potholes across the state. To report a pothole on a state highway, motorists can call 1-800-POTHOLE or log on to the DOT’s website (www.state.nj.us/transportation/) and click “Report a Pothole.”
“NJDOT began repairing potholes as soon as they appeared this year and will fill over 21,000 per week as the number of potholes created by an erratic winter mounts,” said Kolluri.
NJDOT uses nine “pothole killer” machines to rapidly and cost-efficiently eliminate potholes on state roadways. The pothole killer machine can apply approximately six tons of patch material per day. Each pothole killer contains all of the material needed to patch a pothole. A single person operates each machine by using a joystick control inside the vehicle’s cab. This reduces the number of staff needed to patch potholes and increases employee safety by enabling pothole killer operators to work from the safety of the vehicle.
NJDOT also employs 400 maintenance staff to manually patch potholes. Over 100 DOT maintenance crews are available to repairs potholes throughout the state.
Potholes are created by major fluctuations in temperatures that cause moisture in roadways to freeze and thaw, breaking up the pavement. Such temperature changes typically occur in the spring as days become warmer, but temperatures have fluctuated during recent weeks.
NJDOT will primarily perform repairs on weekends and during evening hours to minimize disruptions to traffic flow.
