King County crews typically respond within 24 hours to fill potholes.
Potholes are a pernicious nuisance that no motorist likes to encounter. They jar your car, disrupt your driving, and can put a kink in your alignment. But, the King County Road Services Division has a battle plan that has put the agency on the pinnacle of pothole patching.
After the freezing, thawing and storms of the past few months, this is the time of year when potholes can sprout up with increased frequency. The county's long-standing plan, which has been frequently replicated by other local jurisdictions, is to fill all potholes within 24 to 48 hours of a citizen report. The county also tackles the problem year round, preferring not to wait until there is an epidemic of holes in the road.
“Not only do we want to be of service, but we also want to get out there and make sure the pothole is not a symptom of something worse – like a sink hole or underground void,” said Tony Ledbetter, superintendent for the Road Maintenance Section.
Ledbetter said when residents of unincorporated King County call to report a pothole, the request is immediately assigned to a patching crew in one of four maintenance divisions. Each division has a patching truck, and the pothole repair crew consists of a driver for the truck and a utility worker.
The crew responds to problem locations reported by the traveling public, and also sites that road crews have spotted as they travel along the 1,812 miles of county roadway. When they come upon a pothole, they start by cleaning out the hole and removing any water or ice that has accumulated. Then, they fill it with a special asphalt-concrete cold mix. This fill material is a more pliable version of the typical asphalt-concrete used to pave roads. It firms up quickly, but is not as hard as the rest of the surface of the road. Or, as Ledbetter describes it: “Like putting putty into a hole in the wall.”
He said the typical pothole requires 25-50 lbs. of the cold mix to fill. Managers estimate the crews in the four geographic areas of the county use a combined total of 20 tons of cold mix per week – or as much as 2.1 million lbs. a year. That's the annual equivalent of 143 dump-truck loads. The county's yearly budget for pothole patching is $300,000.
“We're on it almost every day of the year,” said Ledbetter. “You have to keep up with it, because the potholes only get bigger with time. If you set up a system with regular pothole patching, it keeps the numbers down, reduces the size of the holes you have to fill, and limits damage claims.”
If you see a pothole or something else wrong with a road in unincorporated King County, the Roads Services Division wants to hear from you. The best way to report a problem is to call (206) 296-8100, or toll free at 1-800-527-6237. The TDY number is (206) 296-0933
For more information about getting problems fixed on a county road, visit the divisions "Need Something Done?" web page.
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Vanpools and Vanshare commuter groups sponsored by King County Metro Transit are on the increase. Currently, Metro has 663 Vanpool groups in operation, and 60 groups in the new Vanshare program. This gives Metro a total of 723 commuter vans in service – an all-time high for the transit agency.
Much of the growth can be attributed to Metro's Rideshare program, which offers individualized ridematching services to people looking to give up their single-occupancy-vehicle (SOV) trips. The Rideshare Plus program was introduced to increase carpool and vanpool formations at worksites throughout King County. Using a combination of online technology and personalized follow-up, Rideshare makes carpooling easier than ever.
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Questing for new county road maps?
With a new year, come newly updated road maps. The King County Department of Transportation's Road Index maps have just been updated and published online.
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When Metro consolidates bus stops, it selectively removes some stops on streets that have other nearby stops. This results in a smoother and faster ride, improves schedule reliability, and often creates better conditions for pedestrians.
Signs have been posted at bus stops that are being proposed for consolidation. Passengers are encouraged to comment by Friday, March 12. Comments can be emailed, or by phone at (206) 553-3060.
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Reminder: NE 124th Street closed until Wednesday morning
The King County Road Services Division has closed a section of Northeast 124th Street between Willows Road and 154th Place Northeast, to prepare for switching traffic to a newly paved portion of the road.
Crews plan on re-opening the road at 6 a.m. on Wednesday, March 3. During the closure, traffic will be detoured off 124th Street, via Willows Road, Northeast 116th Street, 154th Place Northeast, and then back to 124th Street. Heavy trucks should avoid Northeast 116th Street because of load limits on the York Bridge.
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Roadwork ahead
Here is a list of other King County Department of Transportation projects that may disrupt traffic and travel this week:
South 277th Street, between Auburn and Kent - There will be no lane closures while South 277th Street is being improved, but there will be traffic disruptions on this road between the West Valley Highway and 72nd Avenue South through October 2005.
124 th Avenue NE, in Kingsgate - Private utility relocation is being completed, and will be followed by street improvements along 124th Avenue Northeast between Northeast 132nd Street and Northeast 146th Place.
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DOT Dash