(March 1, 2024) As Portland slowly emerges from winter into spring, the Portland Bureau of Transportation is taking on one of the top road issues that commonly plagues people driving, biking, walking, and rolling – potholes.
Potholes are an inevitability in any city that experiences freezing temperatures. Potholes are caused by water entering cracks in the asphalt and freezing and expanding underneath the pavement surface. This weakens the road and makes it vulnerable to damage and potholes.
After a severe winter storm like the one Portland experienced in January, the problem can be even more widespread after frozen pavement has been driven on by snowplows and other heavy vehicles like buses and fire apparatus with heavy chains for the duration of the storm. Between Jan. 24 (following PBOT’s winter storm response) and Feb. 26, PBOT crews filled almost 3,000 potholes across the city. Crews fill potholes within 30 days of them being reported. When crews report to a reported pothole location, they will also fill any other potholes in the vicinity while onsite.
On March 4-15, PBOT’s Street Systems Division will conduct a pothole “March Madness” campaign -- diverting crews from a variety of regular work and reorganizing them into seven crews working exclusively on pothole repairs and small grind and pave projects known as “milling.” Four pothole crews will proactively focus their efforts on streets east of 82nd Avenue, where the city receives fewer pothole reports from the public but where we know there are hundreds of potholes. A fifth pothole crew will repair reported potholes in other areas of the city. The final two crews within the Streets System Division will perform medium and large milling work on pre-identified street segments east of 82nd Avenue.
Milling is done when there is a lot of failing asphalt in a segment due to heavy use. Instead of filling each pothole individually, the crews use a milling machine or cold planer to grind down the road material in a line, collecting it in a dump truck as it goes. They then sweep the area to remove debris before laying down adhesive that helps the new asphalt adhere to the surface. Finally, asphalt is dumped into the segment and crews shovel and rake it into place by hand before using a roller machine to pack it into place.
“I’m proud of the maintenance crews at PBOT and their dedication to street repair,” said Transportation Director Millicent Williams. “While this work is done year-round on a regular basis, I look forward to seeing the impact our crews can make with a focused effort on repairing potholes and problem spots over the next two weeks.”
When PBOT began tracking the city’s pavement condition in 2008, the citywide pavement network had a pavement condition index (PCI) rating of 76 (out of 100). A pavement condition index of 76 is an acceptable rating to keep pavement across the city in good condition, provided there is ongoing maintenance at an annual investment of approximately $100 million. In reality, funding allocated to paving maintenance in Portland between 2008-2024 has hovered around $25 million a year.
Today Portland’s network pavement condition index is at 53 (on the cusp of “poor”), which means that most pavement repair now requires a deeper treatment such as base repair and road reconstruction. Roads in poorer condition are more susceptible to potholes. As roads degrade, the cost to repair them increases. Potholes (averaging around 1 square foot in size) cost about $300 each to repair, while preventative pavement maintenance costs between $0.55-2.25 a square foot.
PBOT is responsible for maintaining almost 4,900 lane miles of streets in Portland and estimates that bringing all streets in the city into good condition would cost approximately $4.5 billion. Pavement maintenance is primarily funded by the State Highway Fund, which is made up of fuel taxes, DMV fees, and weight mile fees. Fuel taxes are decreasing over time as cars become more fuel efficient—a positive for helping to achieve Portland’s carbon reduction goals, while also contributing to transportation revenue challenges. The State Highway Fund is also controlled by the state legislature, so cities don’t have the ability to influence how much money goes into it or how much of it is allocated to cities. See a list of pavement preservation projects from 2023 on PBOT’s Pavement Resurfacing and Preservation webpage.
Help PBOT by reporting potholes online at www.pdxreporter.org, via email at pdxroads@portlandoregon.gov, or by calling the bureau’s 24/7 maintenance dispatch hotline at 503-823-1700. See if your pothole has already been reported by viewing PBOT’s pothole map.