Potholes proliferate
as funds disappearInadequate funding for road
maintenance is blamed as well
as the recent heavy rains
A lack of funds for road maintenance has contributed to the nearly 28,000 potholes jarring Oahu motorists the past two months, say city officials.
In fiscal 2004 the administration requested $40 million for road maintenance, but the City Council instead allotted $30.7 million. For fiscal 2003 the administration received only $8.7 million for road maintenance.
Larry Leopardi, director of the city Department of Facility Maintenance, said the yearly budget for road maintenance "fluctuates too much."
"You can't get a footprint on it," he said. "If all the roads were in fair or better condition, it would take $32 million, plus or minus, every year to maintain those roads."
Though city officials recently set aside $2 million for emergency repairs to resurface streets damaged by recent heavy rains and vehicles, Leopardi said it will cost the city more money to fix roads in bad shape than to maintain them.
"When you take care of something, it lasts longer," he said.
Council Budget Chairwoman Ann Kobayashi said Council members cut $10 million because the administration still had substantial funds for road maintenance projects from previous years. She added that she and other Council members plan to review expenditures on road maintenance projects to determine whether more funding is needed.
"We'll see how much more they need to bring our roads up to what they should be, because we're certainly behind on road repair," said Kobayashi.
So far, nearly double the amount of potholes was repaired by the city this month compared with the number of potholes repaired in December. A total of 9,883 potholes were repaired in December compared with 18,104 potholes as of Thursday.
Patching material called Wespro and hot asphalt mix are used by the city and state to fill potholes.
Potholes are created when roads become saturated by water and moisture gets underneath the surface, causing the pavement to break up. High traffic volume, heavy rainfall and large vehicles also contribute to other types of pavement deterioration, such as surface peeling.
Leopardi noted that pothole repairs serve as a temporary solution. Roadways that display signs of deterioration need to be excavated, re-compacted and paved over, he said.
The city recently hired Grace Pacific Corp. for resurfacing projects and is focusing first on high-traffic areas after heavy rainstorms in December and January.
Contract workers are on a resurfacing project on Kapiolani Boulevard from Ward Avenue to Kaheka Street. Night work was to start yesterday from 7:30 p.m. to 4 a.m., pending weather conditions, and is expected to be completed by Thursday.
City Managing Director Ben Lee said workers will scrape off old asphalt and repave it with about two to 2 1/2 inches of new asphalt.
Workers have completed resurfacing work on Beretania Street from Alapai to Punchbowl streets and from Punchbowl to Alakea streets.
Lee said officials from the city Department of Design and Construction are expected to meet with contractors to inspect streets between Kalihi and Waikiki. Officials will then create a priority list for street repairs.
The state, meanwhile, has also hired Grace Pacific to assist with pothole patching. The state did not have an exact number of pothole repairs available, but indicated that hundreds had been filled.
The state Transportation Department spends an estimated $250,000 a year on pothole repairs. The state has spent an estimated $60,000 in contract work for pothole repairs in December and January.
Spokesman Scott Ishikawa said they plan to look into additional funding for more resurfacing projects.
