This winter was one of Salt Lake City’s least snowy on record, but that didn’t stop seasonal roadway damage from happening.
A mix of heavy moisture and temperatures bouncing back and forth from record-breaking to below-freezing still wreaked havoc on the 1,905 miles of road the city manages.
“The freeze-thaw cycle, in addition to the stress put (on the asphalt) by driving on the roads, leaves behind many potholes at the end of the season — very noticeable, some of them,” said Jorge Chamorro, director at Salt Lake City’s Public Services Department, as he stood by a weathering road near the Jordan River trail in Glendale on Wednesday morning.
And while flowers are blooming, trees are budding and birds are singing, spring can be a nightmare for drivers.
“This is one of the worst times of the year to drive,” said Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall. “Every mile matters because we have residents, businesses and visitors that use all of them.”
Moments later, she pitched in as a road crew got to work filling in some of the cracks in the road with asphalt.
This week marks Salt Lake City’s third annual “Pothole Palooza,” during which the city’s Streets Services Division puts all its resources into repairing as many damaged spots as possible in a week. They’ve already filled over 3,300 potholes since Monday and hope to match or break last year’s mark of 6,759.
The event was created in 2023 after the state’s record-breaking snowfall created all sorts of road problems, but it became popular enough to bring back. The city recently invested in a truck that holds all the repair equipment in one vehicle to help crews move to each site faster and reduce the number of vehicles impacting roadways.
Yet, since the city deals with so many roads and miles of lanes, Chamorro said his department relies heavily on public feedback on what areas need repairs. People can report potholes through the city’s app or website, or by calling 801-535-2345, and teams will add it to the list. Online users are asked to share the location of the problem area, submit a photo and other relevant details.
Residents can also track progress online through a city website.
Although the palooza ends on Friday, the city still plans on filling many more potholes in the summer months. It just might take a little longer for crews to respond.
The city ended up repairing more than 38,000 problem areas in 2024. Even though SB195 will hold up some roadway construction projects originally planned for this year, Mendenhall said it shouldn’t impact any pothole repair work later this year.
“We have a crew throughout the year that dedicates solely their time to filling potholes,” Chamorro adds. “We have a goal that between 48 and 72 hours, that pothole gets filled.”
