It's been a bumpy ride, literally, all over town as a rash of potholes has taken over after our rough winter. It's just like a game of whack-a-mole: fill in one, then another one shows up. No one knows that better than Marnell Heinz, the maintenance and operations manager for Reno Public Works. His whole career has been eliminating chuckholes. It all started with his dad...he filled potholes too: "He did underground site preparation...everything, from the dirt to the concrete."
Marnell says Reno's pothole patrol is geared up for a full fix-it summer. The blame is always on the weather. Even some rain can get in road cracks…eat away and break up the asphalt. As he describes it, "It’s expanding and contracting constantly and heating the asphalt, causing it to break apart."
More potholes will be fixed than ever before this summer, because there are so many! Marnell estimates there are over 1,000 in the city, chewing up tires, banging up shocks and getting your car out of alignment. "Throughout the Truckee Meadows, we're seeing really good failures on most of our arterials and collectors."
We watched as they made quick work of some road ruts on Manzanita Lane. The repair process has not changed in 50-some years…first, they drill out an even patch. Second, they spray in tack oil, then go over it with a torch making is gummy and sticky. Hot 350 degree asphalt goes in next, and a 7-ton roller carefully compacts it. These repairs last 10 to 15 years.
The City is serious. The new $530-million city budget includes $750,000 set aside just to do these road surface treatments. As for our current crop of road craters, you'll see the progress in the form of those black rectangles and squares.
And to Marnell, they're a thing of beauty.
The city is encouraging you to report potholes. They say a work order will be written for every one that's reported.
Should residents have a specific area of roadway they are concerned about, they are encouraged to contact:
City of Reno: Reno Direct at 775-334-INFO or renodirect@reno.gov
City of Sparks: 775-353-2271 or maintenance@cityofsparks.us
NDOT: 775-834-8300 or info@dot.nv.gov
RTC: 775-335-1874 or sgibson@rtcwashoe.com
Washoe County: 775-328-2180 or washoe311@washoecounty.us.
(City of Reno contributed to this report.)
