County of Monmouth

For Immediate Release:

March 9, 2015

 

Crews repairing County potholes

Effort is to make permanent repairs on County roads

 

FREEHOLD, NJ – After weeks of plowing and salting County roads, Monmouth County Department of Public Works and Engineering crews have transitioned over to the next phase of operation: pothole repair on County Roads. Monmouth County Public Works Highway crews repair potholes on County roads.

“There are nine Highway Division crews going out on the County roads every day to look for and repair potholes,” said Freeholder Thomas A. Arnone, liaison to the Department of Public Works and Engineering. “The Highway crews are also responding to reports of potholes from police departments and residents that come in all hours of the day and night.”

Monmouth County primarily uses permanent measures to repair most the potholes on its more than 1,000 lane miles of road. 

The process to fill a pothole is pretty straightforward. The section of road pavement surrounding the hole is first cut with a high speed saw. Then, the asphalt is broken into smaller pieces with a jackhammer and the small pieces are recycled for future use. The hole is then filled with recycled asphalt and compressed with a plate tamper or vibratory roller for a permanent repair.  

“The asphalt being used to fill potholes on County roads is recycled from other potholes and county road projects,” said Arnone. “This approach results in a tremendous savings for our taxpayers as the County only has to purchase limited amount of asphalt for the thousands of potholes that are filled each year.”

The collected asphalt is put into what is known as an asphalt recycler where it is heated and blended with additives and ready to be used for road repairs.

Residents can report a pothole on a County road by calling the Monmouth County Highway Division of the Department of Public Works and Engineering at 732-431-6550.

If you come across a pothole on a State highway, you should report it to the NJ DOT at http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/commuter/potholeform.shtm. Potholes on local roads should be reported to the appropriate local municipality.

“We ask that you do not call 911 to report a pothole,” Arnone said. “The 911 service needs to be used for emergencies. Keeping the 911 lines open helps our 911 operators, police and other first responders.”

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