OKC Crews On 'Pothole Patrol' After Recent Rains, Flooding

The recent rain and flooding has resulted in a huge increase in potholes in Oklahoma City.

Crews are out looking for potholes and the city has asked residents to report any potholes, too.

“We've obviously got crews working extra hours to try to fill them more quickly than we would normally,” said Eric Wenger, the Public Works Director for Oklahoma City.

The rain was bad enough on the roads, but standing water from all the flooding made it even worse.

“Anytime there is a crack in the surface or just an imperfection, the water gets underneath the pavement and as cars drive over or trucks, it releases that pavement and creates the hole,” Wenger explained.

The city has about a dozen crews out repairing potholes as quickly as possible. They have streamlined the process with the push of a button and a mechanical arm on the truck, but crews can only do road repairs when it is dry and not raining. That has been tricky lately.

“We actually have city staff that are out looking for potholes and making sure that we are getting those turned in as quickly as possible,” Wenger added.

The crews fix 80,000 potholes a year due to normal wear and Wenger said by the time May is over, crews will have filled more potholes than usual.

A pothole can take anywhere from five minutes to several hours to fix and crews work on a priority system. The roads that are traveled the most get fixed first.

“We try to fix all potholes within three days, obviously we appreciate the public's patience as we do see rains and more potholes,” Wenger told News 9.

You can report potholes to the city by calling (405) 297-2535 or through the city's mobile app.