‘All Hands on Deck': City of San Diego Fills 14,000+ Potholes, But is it Enough?

City crews have filled more than 14,000 potholes since the start of the year, according to the City of San Diego.

In January, NBC 7 reported that the city had received more than 1,600 reports of potholes through the Get It Done app. They added that they usually see around 200 reports, but the severe weather made that number much higher.

Now, there are approximately 350 left for crews to tend to.

The city credits its "‘all hands on deck" approach for the quick action. They added in a press release sent to NBC 7, “the City’s Transportation Department deployed nine patching trucks, along with 30 two-person teams carrying bagged asphalt, and a dump truck repurposed to carry hot asphalt.” 

But, why do potholes pop up on San Diego roads in the first place? 

In a statement sent to NBC 7, a spokesperson for the City of San Diego emphasized that the issues San Diego has with potholes are the same ones felt in other areas. They explained, “rain causes water to seep into cracks that occur in the asphalt over time and this water gets under the asphalt and destabilizes the base layers of the roadway causing the upper layers of asphalt to loosen. Then, especially on busy roads, cars and trucks run over these loosened spots and their tires dig out the loose asphalt chunks and a pothole is created.”

Clairemont Mesa Boulevard is an example of a road that has experienced repeated wear and tear. It has potholes that have been filled alongside some cracks that have not been filled, and the traffic is relentless with cars and trucks passing through at all hours.

“There’s potholes everywhere,” said Dylan Helmholtz. “I try not to hit them but you can’t avoid everything.” 

Helmholtz works at Freeway Insurance. It is based out of a strip mall on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard. He said he has not had to deal with any major damage to his car, but his friends have not been so lucky. 

“I have heard stories where they have to put an extra thousand, couple thousand dollars into fixing their vehicle because of the situation,” said Helmholtz. 

Tin Doan works across the street from Helmholtz. He is a barber at SD Barber Shop and has lived in San Diego for most of his life. He loves the city, but if he had one complaint, it would be the roads surrounding his shop.

“They patch it up a little bit, but it doesn’t last that long,” said Doan. “A few of my clients even said that it’s bad getting to the shop here.” 

Both Doan and Helmholtz said they feel that many of the pothole repairs that they see are not permanent fixes. 

In a statement sent to NBC 7, a spokesperson for the City of San Diego said, “the City works to address these potholes quickly and thoroughly with dedicated personnel and resources to provide smooth safe streets while continuing to resurface miles of roadway through our asphalt overlay and slurry seal programs. There is more work to do however and our City forces are up to the task.” 

For more information on the city’s efforts to repair roads, click here.