The City of Reno has been busy with projects from their "Reno Direct" line. Recently someone used the line to draw attention to getting some potholes fixed on Keystone Avenue over by West 4th Street.
The supervisor said they take on these work orders, not only to help keep locals happy with the condition of their city, but also preventing damage to cars and keeping the streets safe. He says Reno Direct is very helpful to them, but they usually can get things like potholes patched up before a tip is sent in.
Last year about 90 calls came from Reno Directs tip line for potholes. Reno Public Works employees said they usually do preventative work regardless of the calls.
Tim Hendricks, the Operations Maintenance Supervisor of the City of Reno Public Works adds "We filled almost 3,000 potholes, so about 96% of those we do on our own before we get a call in."
Although they still think the Reno Direct tip line is extremely helpful, the City of Reno tweeted today "Shoutout to the Public Works and Reno Direct for the fast work on filling this pothole! It went from a pothole to a not-hole in 3 days flat!"
Hendricks says "I think the Reno Direct helpline is fantastic. 2 reasons is it creates a work order that we have to follow up with, and we have a paper trail to show that we've done it and we can also tell in that paper trail what we actually did for that specific request."
You may think of potholes as a huge circular dent in the road, but they come in all shapes and sizes. If ignored, can turn into an even bigger hole in the road, especially with weather like snow and rain freezing and expanding the damage on the road making them unsafe to drive on.
Hendricks explains "A lot of the time, with the ones that have the cracks, they will actually grab your car and it can pull it from side to side which can cause people to lose control."
During their filling process, they'll first blow out all of the debris from the pothole and fill it with a bag mix that can last up to 2 years. Even though it might look loose on the ground at first, Hendricks says there's a chemical compound that reacts when cars drive over the mix, creating a more permanent solution.
Hendricks also told us, UV rays from the sun can take the oil right out of the road creating pockets in the asphalt. When water gets inside the pockets it starts to break apart.
But while all this road work is being done, drivers need to be extra aware of the workers on site.
Hendricks says "People kind of get desensitized because of all the cones out everywhere... but the guys are working the streets, and if you could just slow down a little bit you could just save someone's life and they'll get to go home to their family that night."
If you would like to contact the Reno Direct line, their phone number is 775-334-INFO (4636)
