Politics & Government

MoDOT Reveals More on Its Plan to Attack Potholes

The new plan with have road crews filling potholes within 24-hours. Add potholes in your area to Patch's interactive map in this article.

Beginning in March, the  is aggressively attacking potholes across the St. Louis area and commits to filling the holes with asphalt within 24 hours of when they are reported to MoDOT on weekdays.

MoDOT stated in a news release that the plan is part of an improved program to respond to and fix potholes throughout the St. Louis area district which includes St. Louis, St. Charles and Jefferson counties.

"It's the right thing to do," explained Tom Blair, St. Louis Asst. District Engineer with MoDOT. Why now? The month of March is when we get out the heart of winter weather, so this is a major priority to our staff, to now get out there an get these potholes filled.

Find out what's happening in University Citywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The goal is the fill the potholes while they are small and make roads safer across the area. Blair tells Patch that MoDOT needs the public's help to make the effort run effectively which is why MoDOT is working to the word out to drivers.

"We really want to ask the customers to help us. First, they can report potholes. Don't just be frustrated and drive over them every day," Blaire tells Patch."The second thing they can do is give us room to repair them. We don't want motorists running into our staff while we are repairing them. Those are the two things people can do for us, and give us 24 hours to fill them."

Find out what's happening in University Citywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

For current potholes, they will be temporarily patched as soon as possible, and then that wil be replaced with a permanent repair in the spring and summer.

Blair said repairing these potholes is what MoDOT calls a "moving operation. MoDOT does not normally close roads to repair potholes, so there will be trucks and crews on the road and still be traffic on both sides of them.

"We've had more than a few motorists run into members of our crews, and they are going to be out there so everybody's got to keep their eyes open and be alert," Blaire urged. "For the most part what we've seen is unattentive and unfocused drivers running into our trucks. During the month of March there are going to be a lot more trucks out there, so play attention."

The pothole repair plan applies only to MoDOT maintained roads, like interstates and most highways. MoDOT will also patch the potholes through out the year, March is simply the kick off of the "enhanced pothole repair initiative."

Drivers can also report potholes to by calling 1-888 ASK MoDOT or visiting modot.org.

Patch users can report potholes by uploading them onto our interactive map above. To submit a pothole, follow these steps:

  1. Click this link to get to our interactive Google map. Or, click “View Pothole Patrol in a larger map” beneath the map at the top of this story.
  2. Enter an address into the search bar.
  3. When the address comes up, click the “Save to Map” link. Choose the Pothole Patrol link.
  4. You have submitted your pothole! To add more information, go back to the Pothole Patrol map and click the red Edit button. You can then click on your pothole to add more info. 

"Potholes form when temperatures warm up during the day, but continue to be cold at night. This is the main cause of potholes in highways and why they are prevalent during spring season. The rain and snow from winter leave moisture that seeps into the cracks and joints in the pavement. When temperatures drop, that water freezes and expands the pavement. This expansion causes the pavement to bulge and crack. When cars drive over the bulging pavement, it eventually causes chunks of pavement to pop out," MoDOT stated in a press release.


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