Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz Announces Implementation of Pothole Emergency Plan

Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz today announced the implementation of a pothole emergency plan that will run six weeks and fill 50,000 potholes.

“We are dividing the city into four zones and will attack this problem systematically and efficiently for the next six weeks, at the end of which we will have 50,000 fewer potholes than we do today,” Mayor Kapszukiewicz said. “A large contingent of city employees will be methodically moving through streets to fill all potholes in an efficient manner, rather than crisscrossing the city based on complaints. This will be done by zone, which is the most efficient way to tackle this crisis.”

The number of daily pothole crews will be more than tripled from four to 13. Public Service employees will be pulled away from all other duties – except demolition, alley maintenance, and the mill and fill road resurfacing program – to fill potholes during the next six weeks.

Employees in the city’s Department of Public Utilities will be redeployed to pothole duty during the six-week period.

The Lucas County Engineers Office has agreed to provide two crews to the city for two weeks under a partnership to help fill potholes.

“This is the number one priority for the city right now,” Mayor Kapszukiewicz said. “Cities across the state have struggled to fix roads for years because of major reductions in state allocations. During the past 10 years, the city of Toledo has lost nearly $100 million from the state of Ohio. To put that in perspective, that is roughly the size of our budget for the entire police department and the municipal court system. This has become a crisis for cities all across Ohio. A drive through any of Ohio’s major cities, including Toledo, shows the urgent need to fix our infrastructure problem.”

City crews have already filled more than 25,100 potholes since Jan. 1, 2019.