Buffalo DPW crews have been out and about today filling potholes as part of their first 'pothole blitz' of 2019. Nine crews are working throughout Buffalo.
City Engineer Michael Finn said weekend “blitzes” allow for crews to hit the roads when traffic volumes are down.
“We’re also able to bring resources that are not necessarily available during the weekdays,” Finn said. “We bring crews from the sewer department, from the water department who have normal work that they’re doing during the week. When we can bring everybody out on a Saturday we can blitz it.”
Finn said 311 calls are down from last year.
“For February 2018 we had over 1100 311 calls. This way half-way through February we’re just up over 400. So we’re not seeing quite so many calls, but we are continuing to see the freeze-thaw cycle that occurs every year in Western New York and we’re being proactive to make sure that we’re maintaining the streets in a good manor.”
When reporting a pothole, Finn said it is important to be as descriptive as possible when regarding its location.
“Using addresses, intersections, or one thing that’s helpful to us if you’re on a street like Main Street and the addresses are a little tough to see, use the numbers on the street lights,” he said. “Those are pretty analogous to the addresses and it helps our crews to get to the pothole to get to the pothole to get it addressed.”
If you want to report a pothole in the city, you can call 311 or visit the city’s website. For potholes outside the city, call 851-4890.
