The City of Omaha reports that significant progress on pothole repairs.
Over the past seven days, March 29th through April 4th, the number of pothole reports declined and the number of repairs increased.
Several factors helped the city make rapid repairs.Omaha paid Omni $4,000 to open its asphalt plant on March 18th, three weeks early so they could buy hot asphalt.The number of private contractor crews is up to 9 or 10 each day and there was only one rainy day this week that affected their work schedule.
March 29th through April 4th, crews repaired 7.445 potholes and used 1,044 tons of asphalt.The number of calls to the Mayor's Hotline totaled 5.772.The preliminary expenses for the first quarter of 2019 for street maintenance services, which includes snow and ice removal and street repairs, is at $1 million in employee overtime, $2.5 million for private contractors that plowed snow and $2.5 million in salt for January through March.
The Mayor’s Hotline is 402-444-5555.
Next week, April 8-12, is National Work Zone Awareness Week.This is the 20th anniversary of the event and the goal is to promote safety as the spring road construction season starts.It is also a reminder to use caution while driving through work zones to decrease fatalities and injuries.
In 2017, Omaha Public Works employee Sal Fidone was hit and killed while working with a pothole crew.Last week, an employee of B & W Company, a city contractor, was seriously hurt when a driver hit a pickup carrying flashing arrow warning signs.The impact pinned the employee against the equipment.
All drivers are urged to use caution when driving through work zones.