Mayor Stoney Announces Department of Public Works Milestone, Repairs 20,000th Pothole in City
Today Mayor Levar M. Stoney went to Highland Park to announce a milestone in the administration’s efforts to deliver improved services to the residents of Richmond, joining a crew from the Department of Public Works (DPW) to repair the 20,000th pothole in the city since he took office January 1.
During the
entirety of 2016, work crews repaired 18,000 potholes. Reaching 20,000 potholes
repaired in only eight months is an indication of the significant progress the
administration and DPW have made toward addressing the city’s infrastructure
needs.
Early in the
year, three DPW crews (including both temporary workers and full-time city
employees), began completing 50 potholes per crew daily on average. Currently,
there are fewer than 50 open tickets in the system thanks to the department’s
diligence.
DPW has also
made progress on repairing long-neglected city alleyways. In the first eight
months of the new administration, work crews under DPW Director Bobby Vincent
Jr. have graded over 1,000 alleys – the equivalent of more than 70 miles of
alleys across the city. The goal is to reach 1,300 alleys (86+ miles)
before the end of September.
City workers
have also significantly reduced the backlog for bulk and brush pickup requests.
In September, 2016, there were 2,630 “open” requests and nearly half of them
were more than a month old. As of the end of August, 2017, there are 265 “open”
requests and 96 percent are less than two weeks old.
“This kind of
progress and improvement is what we work toward every day to make life better
for our residents,” said Mayor Stoney. “I commend the efforts of DPW director,
Bobby Vincent, and our hard-working DPW crews, who have taken on the challenge
of literally taking the bumps out of the roads we travel. We still have work to
do, but we’re are on the right path to a Richmond that works better.”
The Department
of Public Works has been preparing for the upcoming winter and the toll it
takes on city streets. Two pothole patching machines are being purchased which
are capable of filling 50 potholes per day with one operator on board.