The municipality’s Roadpatcher is out on the streets, quickly filling all of those landmines. The specialized vehicle, made for pothole patching, makes quick work of Jasper’s holey streets, spraying oil and aggregate into each of the holes. Once filled, the excess gravel is swept up and the patch is left to be compacted by passing cars.
“Basically it becomes asphalt in the road as cars drive over it,” said Doug Rodwell, acting director of environmental services. And before you know it, you won’t even see the patch, he said.
The municipality purchased the Roadpatcher two years ago for about $24,000. Before that time, the budget for pothole filling was $40,000. “And that was bringing someone in and they’d do three-quarters of the holes,” said Rodwell, noting that that is all $40,000 would cover.
With the Roadpatcher, the budget for potholes has been reduced to about $20,000 a year.
“Potholes are a spring event,” said Rodwell. “No community is immune.”
The bad news, though, is potholes are a sign of aging infrastructure.
“The road gets a little older and it starts to deteriorate, water gets in and it blows out,” he said, noting that weather has a lot to do with the number of potholes you see.
Compared to previous years, this spring isn’t quite so bad. But, either way, Rodwell said the municipality will keep track of where the potholes are in order to help plan for future repairs.
To report a pothole near you, Rodwell asks that residents contact the municipality, either using the Universal 311 smartphone app or by calling (780) 852-3014.
