In breakup of streets, first rut is the deepest

Long relationship with snow and ice leaves many scars

Daniel J. Chacon, Rocky Mountain News

Published February 6, 2007 at midnight

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Melting ice and snow on city streets is revealing Denver's next challenge: thousands of potholes.

Since the Blizzard of 2006 in late December, the city's Public Works Department has filled between 8,000 and 10,000 potholes.

The cost: $150,000 and climbing.

Public Works Manager Bill Vidal said Monday that thousands more potholes will have to be patched.

"Clearly, the pavement has taken a beating," he said.

Mayor John Hickenlooper, who spent part of his weekend driving around the city, said he planned to turn to private contractors to help fill potholes, as he has done to help clear the streets of snow.

Details of the mayor's proposal were unavailable late Monday.

On Friday, the mayor said that additional contractors would be brought in to help clear ice from residential streets, a plan that could cost up to $10 million, though the warmer weather in this week's forecast is expected to cut some of those expenses.

But while the higher temperatures can melt ice and snow, it can't fill potholes, a problem that may only get worse with time.

"What I saw (while driving around) that was most concerning was a lot of small potholes that were just beginning," Hickenlooper said.

"But potholes in this kind of weather - after this level of weather disruption - can grow very quickly," the mayor said.

Just ask some of the customers of Tapp's Garage on Mississippi Avenue, where mechanics have seen more bent wheels and blown tires than usual.

"Most of our customers just realize it's a thing of life, and you just deal with it," said service adviser Chris Lechman.

"They're not happy about it, but they're not going around and grumbling, yelling or screaming - or at least I haven't heard it," he said.

Denver Councilwoman Jeanne Faatz is hearing some of the complaints - as well as the "thump, thump from my car."

"They are starting to rear their ugly heads," Faatz said, referring to the potholes.

"Just coming in (to City Hall from my district office), I had to dodge three of them," she said.

Faatz said she expects potholes to be the "next wave of concern" among Denver residents.

"It's just an inevitable second phase," she said. "In fact, I think what you're going to find is that not only will you be having potholes, but, in some cases, there will even be the need for reconstruction of sections (of streets)."

Filling them in

• 8,000 to 10,000 potholes have been filled by the city of Denver since the Blizzard of 2006.

• Conservative estimates say that 2,500 potholes still pock city streets.

$150,000 spent so far fixing potholes.

$1 million is budgeted in 2007 to patch potholes.

311 The number to call to report a pothole in Denver.Source: Denver Public Works

chacond@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5099

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