The hub city is working to repair potholes but they need your help!

05/22/23

JACKSON, TENN (WNBJ)-

Complaints about potholes seem to never end in Jackson, but the city is working hard to get them repaired.

39 News caught up with the street department to see what goes into repairing potholes and how you can help the city!

The Ready 311 app allows drivers to report the location of potholes to the street department

"Most of the time, if they get that 311 information, they can go right then and fix it. Make those repairs now as if they get it within that day, probably within 30 minutes to an hour," said Superintendant of the Street Department Johnny Weddle.

It was the 311 app that alerted the street department to a pothole on Weatherridge Drive today.

Once crews find out where the potholes are, there are two different ways to repair them. One is temporary,

“Now we do have a pro patch or that that goes in front of us. That's actually probably repairing 200 or 300 a day. But that's not a friendly fix. It's just a band-aid until this machine get there to actually makes a permanent fix," said Weddle.

A more permanent fix is to use an infrared machine, which costs the city no money.

“It's actually reheating the old surface, bringing it back to life to make it a lot easier. So what we can work with, depending on how deep the actually pothole [is]," Weddle said.

Superintendent Johnny Weddle hears the complaints and says they are doing everything they can to make the repairs quickly, "Just be patient with us. Give us a little time… when we get that call, we're sitting them straight out, and they get them. Matter of fact, we are running 10 hours a day. The pothole crews run 10 hours, they are trying to catch up what a lot of them."

But the pothole repairs won't last forever Weddle said, "Most of them there's going to be a band aid until this machine gets there to actually do a permanent fix or until that street is actually resurfaced. We've got a lot of streets that's going to be resurfaced this year."

In the meantime, the street crew is asking Jacksonians to use the Ready 311 app to let them know where the potholes are accurately.

“Be careful on how you actually enter your information in on 311 because sometimes it it puts them on a goose chase," said Weddle.

Crews promise to continue filling potholes in the Hub City as quickly are they are alerted to them.