Bend area seeing fewer potholes this winter

This time of year, Central Oregonians are usually complaining about potholes. Thanks to a mild winter, road officials say they’re seeing far fewer than usual, but potholes are still out there.

Bend Streets and Operations Department Director David Abbas said Monday thtat two major things cause potholes: Weather and the quality of our roads.

Since Oct. 1, the City of Bend has repaired 350 potholes. But remember that “snowmaggedon” back in 2016-17? That winter, workers repaired 1,312 potholes.

The region’s fairly dry conditions this year are giving street officials more time to tackle more projects than usual.

“We’ll make use of this time,” said Chris Doty,the director of Deschutes County’s Road Department.

“When we’re not out either repairing roads for damage, plowing snow or ice, we’ll be out doing a lot of shoulder work, a lot of vegetation work, a lot of projects that normally we don’t have a lot of time to do,” Doty said.

Patching up a pothole is really just a temporary fix for a bigger problem.

Abbas said the city has been focusing on street preservation and improving road conditions. He explained, Bend has 850 lane miles, essentially the length of drivable pavement in a given area. NewsChannel 21 learned that over the past few years, workers have been fixing up more than 100 of those lane miles each year.

These street projects are helpful, because when water runs into cracks in the road, it seeps down. Then, when snow melts, then freezes, then melts again and expands, the moisture breaks up the asphalt and ruins it.

To report a pothole on a road, call your city or county or check their websites for service request forms.