Credit: PA Internet News Service
PennDOT will be stepping up their efforts to fix state roads after a tough winter that caused havoc on road surfaces.
Gov. Tom Wolf announced late last week that PennDOT will be attacking potholes as part of the Resurface PA program, which will be financed in-part by savings from other projects.
The governor ordered PennDOT to direct as many resources as possible to deal with pothole and pavement repairs across the state.
“PennDOT has been at work on this problem for many months, but the severe temperature swings through the winter have created ideal conditions for continued pavement challenges,” Wolf said. “We are further increasing our focus on pothole repairs and also accelerating much-needed work on our interstates.”
Pennsylvania will be directing $22.3 million toward repair work through June 30. The funding should allow for nearly 30,000 tons of patching material. An additional $7 million will be spent on interstate maintenance work throughout the rest of the year.
In addition, $150 million will be invested in other road improvement projects.
“These investments will address much-needed repairs and preserve several stretches of interstate,” PennDOT Secretary Leslie Richards said.
Through the end of April, PennDOT crews used almost 23,000 tons of asphalt to fix potholes across Pennsylvania. In 2017, PennDOT only used 15,515 tons of asphalt and 14,673 in 2016.
So far, Pennsylvania has spend more than $17 million on pothole repairs this year.
This past winter was tough on roadways and caused an aggressive freeze-thaw cycle that damaged state-owned roadways.
