WATERFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) — It's pothole season, which comes every spring. However, the Road Commission for Oakland County said it's received a higher number of requests for pothole patching in subdivisions.
The recent freeze, thaw cycle, stark fluctuations in temperature and precipitation are being blamed.
Waterford resident Janice Benjamin said potholes are a part of the landscape in the subdivision where she’s lived for 30 years.
“The road conditions through here lately have been awful," she told 7 Action News.
“Matter of fact, people are putting those cones in the holes... to keep people from losing their tires or stuff like that. You have to go up in people’s lawns to get around it, and it’s just been terrible," Benjamin explained.
Craig Bryson is senior communications manager with the Road Commission for Oakland County, where they are letting residents know their requests are being heard.
“We know about the problem. We’re not ignoring anybody," he told 7 Action News. “We’ve had a lot of potholes pop up, especially on some of the older subdivision roads throughout the county and we’ve been getting a lot of calls from people asking that we get into the subdivisions.
“However, we have to prioritize the busier roads. Safety dictates that we patch the roads with the most traffic volume, moving at the highest speeds first. So those are the freeways (and) the busy surface streets."
While the road commission is prioritizing high-volume roads first, Bryson said crews are managing to get to neighborhoods that desperately need the work.
Bryson explained, “We’re actually doing a lot of overtime work trying to get as many of the subdivisions as we can, but we’ve got 1,300 miles of subdivision roads and so, it’s taking us a while to get through all of them while also still doing the main roads and handling all of the other routine maintenance activities that we do.”
He said because of the high number of requests for patching, the commission is unable to give a time frame for specific neighborhoods.
However, the presence of the road crew working Thursday morning and afternoon in Benjamin's neighborhood isn't lost on her.
She said, “We’re really happy they’re starting to get out here.”
At the same time, many residents told 7 Action News they prefer a long-term fix which, of course, takes money.
The road commission said "subdivision roads have exceeded their design life and are in poor condition" and would cost “at least $500 million (or $1 million per mile)” to rebuild them. The agency adds it only receives about "$3,500 in funding per mile of subdivision road annually."
So, it’s patching in the meantime.
“We just want people to know that we haven’t forgotten you. We’re not ignoring you. We’re getting there as quickly as we can, and we appreciate your patience," Bryson said.
