During the week of Pothole Palooza, crews were out at 10 locations around the city where they repaired and/or prevented an estimated 5,369 potholes from forming.

 

How Was the Estimated Number of Potholes Repaired/Prevented Calculated:

A typical permanent pothole repair is 4 feet wide x 4 feet long or 16 Square Feet.

For Pothole Palooza, crews repaired 9,545 SY of pavement combined at all 10 locations. To calculate potholes, you must first convert the quantity of square yards completed to square feet completed to number of potholes repaired/prevented.   

The formula is 9,545 SY x 9 SF/1 SY x 1 SF/16 SF = “repaired and/or prevented 5,369 potholes from forming”

SY = Square Yards
SF = Square Feet

Street Operations has assessed arterial routes throughout the city using pavement management data, focusing on projects in each of the 5 Council Districts, assessing roadway conditions, and weighing that with the City’s Equity Index.

Arterials are larger roadways that deliver traffic between collector roads and freeways. These roadways carry most of the heavy traffic and transit systems throughout the city. The best way to identify them is that there is center yellow or white lane striping.

The City understands and acknowledges the numerous requests for street maintenance on certain arterials and streets in Tacoma. Arterial roads have a large need for repair, more than current resources allow. 

 

Street Operations staff knows more needs to be done but needs to turn its focus to its planned summer projects. Those projects include Streets Initiative residential overlays, surface treatments, and preventative maintenance on approximately 550 blocks throughout the city.  

 

Due to the short duration of this event combined with limited resources such as staffing, funds, and equipment, as well as logistical challenges, Street Operations is only able to focus on a certain number of locations during the weeklong duration of this event. 

 

Street Operations will continue to address additional maintenance needs throughout the rest of the year as part of its normal course of business. 

 

These locations were prioritized based on the frequency of past reports and requests, the City’s Equity Index, and providing service in each of the 5 council districts.

Road closures and detours will be in place from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Roadways will be reopened once scheduled work is completed. 

 

Each location is different and will have its own unique traffic management needs.

 

Traffic control, including lane closures and detours, will be set up to safely move vehicles and pedestrians through or around the work zones. In some cases, traffic may be diverted or temporarily halted to ensure the safety of both workers and the traveling public. 

 

Traffic cones, signs, and flaggers may be present to guide vehicles safely around the work area. When roadways need to be closed, detours will be used to direct the traveling public. Notice boards will be placed at each location at least a week prior to the start of the work.

Overall, the public will witness a coordinated effort by City crews to repair defective pavement and improve the condition of the roadways.

 

Work Crew: Street Operations Staff will be mobilizing for these projects each day, setting up traffic control, preparing the site, removing the asphalt, and paving the same day. It is referred to as “grind and pave.” 

 

Construction Vehicles: Crews will be using standard construction equipment geared towards asphalt paving, such as dump trucks, self-loading milling machines, skid steer loaders, asphalt paving machines, and rollers.

 

Traffic Control: In some cases, traffic may be diverted or temporarily halted to ensure the safety of both workers and the travelling public. Traffic cones, signs, and flaggers may be present to guide vehicles safely around the work area. When roadways need to be closed, detours will be used to direct the traveling public.

 

Materials: Crews will either remove and dispose of the asphalt grindings at a local disposal site, or if they are acceptable, they may be used for the production of future asphalt for future projects.  Crews will also purchase asphalt mix from a local vendor. All asphalt mixes will meet City of Tacoma and State of Washington material requirements.

 

Process: Crews will remove the distressed asphalt using their self-loading milling machine and place and compact new asphalt. If lane striping is removed, crews will place temporary striping, and then once the asphalt cools, our striping crew will return to install the permanent lane striping.

 

Safety Measures: The crew will take safety precautions to minimize risks during the repair process. This will include public notice of the coming project, wearing personal protective equipment to be visible to the traveling public, traffic control, and following established safety protocols. 
 

Street Operations will be utilizing existing funding from the Street Fund to perform this work.

Weather depending, crews are planning on performing two projects per district each day.

 

Street Operations Crews will be averaging 125-150 tons of asphalt per day on each project. 

 

Shortly after Pothole Palooza wraps up, Street Operations staff will tally the total work done. That will be shared on the City’s social media sites, along with before and after pictures of some of the locations.

Crews temporarily patched 12,099 potholes and permanently repaired 2,889 potholes in 2023.

To report potholes in your neighborhood, contact the TacomaFIRST 311 Customer Support Center by dialing 311 within Tacoma city limits or (253) 591-5000 from anywhere else, or visit cityoftacoma.org/TacomaFIRST311.