Rain Brings Slew of New Potholes to San Diego Residents, Again

Rain brings a lot of good things for a state constantly dealing with a drought. It also brings a slew of potholes.

“They are everywhere right now,” sighed Mario Escalera.

Escalera is part of the City of San Diego’s pothole repair crew. He said he always knows his work will pile up when the rain clouds head to town.

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“We always say, ‘Oh boy. Here come the big potholes,'" Escalera said.

The City of San Diego said it had more than 15,000 reports of potholes in 2022.

“We try to go for at least 30 potholes a day,” Escalera said while tackling a pothole on Friday on Garnet Avenue in Pacific Beach.

He laughed when asked if rainstorms meant “job security.”

“It’s good for us, but sad for the citizens of this city,” he shrugged.

Swells have increased due to the storm and waves on Friday were expected to be up to 16 feet. A high surf warning was in effect along the coast until 6 p.m. Friday and lifeguards were urging people to stay out of the water.

Escalera said other drivers were the biggest danger of their job. Otherwise, it was the constantly growing “to-do” list that is regularly populated by reports through the city’s Get It Done app.

The City of San Diego said it took crews an average of nine days to patch each pothole in 2022. That was a vast improvement from 2021, when crews averaged 19 days to close a complaint.