ATLANTA (CW69 News at 10) — The City of Atlanta’s Pothole Posse is full force, patching up roads for safer driving. Mayor Andre Dickens helped a crew fill in some holes in the Ormewood Park neighborhood and shared the city’s plans for more repairs.
Neighbors living near Emerson and Palatine avenues in Southeast Atlanta will tell you they’re ready for the potholes to disappear. Craig Shackelford is one of them and says one damaged his tire coming out of the grocery store.
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“It’s like a thousand dollar drop in the bucket for me,” he said.
They’re glad the city is taking action to fix the problem.
“Twenty years ago, Mayor Shirley Franklin enacted the Pothole Posse, and now, here we are bringing it back,” said Dickens. He says efforts to fill the holes are going smoothly. “This is hard work, and I’m glad and thankful for their service, and this is only a 70-degree day.”
Dickens joined the crew to help fill a few potholes within just 30 minutes.
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“The work that we’re doing today is really to extend the functional life of the pavement,” said ATLDOT Commissioner Josh Rowan.
So far, the city has filled 1,100 potholes during his first 100 days in office. It filled nearly 4,000 potholes in 2021. Dickens says it will take three crews to reach the city’s current goal of filling 30 potholes a day. The city currently has two crews, and officials are working on getting a third crew.
Neighbors say they’re thankful for the temporary pothole fix, but they’re hoping for a more permanent solution.
“It takes time to be able to plan, design, and pay for every road to be paved and resurfaced, so until then, the Pothole Posse is gonna fill the holes,” Dickens said.
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He says T-SPLOST 2.0, the Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, will take care of this and other infrastructure issues. Dickens went on to urge the public to report any potholes they come across by calling 311.
