Yes, there are more potholes – but Concord is filling them

CONCORD, CA (April 21, 2023) — “What’s the deal with all of the new potholes?” is a complaint that I have been hearing a lot recently.

Unfortunately, all of the wet weather we’ve had since New Year’s weekend has caused some trouble for our roads.

The rain poured heavily onto and under our pavement – much more so than we’ve seen in the past few drought years. While we all want the rain to alleviate the drought, water is actually an enemy of pavement. Water breaks down the pavement, and it can soften the base of the pavement – causing a depression that allows water to puddle. The combination results in a pothole.

Sun exposure creates another problem; it breaks down the asphalt binder and causes minor cracks to appear. During dry years, these minor cracks are not a problem. During wet years, those cracks create the opportunity for water to sit in them and start breaking down the surrounding material.

So, our wet winter weather coupled with the previous few dry years and the constant flow of traffic throughout the city have created the perfect storm for roadway woes.

Working hard

The good news is that our Public Works team has been hard at working fixing the newly created potholes – many of which you have told us about through our “Concord Connect” mobile app. This tool allows us to hear directly from residents, pinpoint the potholes and put them on a list for quick repair.

Since Jan. 1, 2023, our team has repaired 3,357 potholes throughout the city. Beyond these quick fixes, Concord has a comprehensive pavement maintenance strategy to patch the potholes, seal the cracks and seal-coat a street.

Concord maintains 60 million sq. ft. of local roads. Before voters passed Measure V – our one-cent sales tax – in November 2020, the city needed approximately $26 million annually to maintain its existing pavement condition. However, only $6 million was available to fund roadway maintenance.

Fortunately, we were able to leverage Measure V to borrow funds to invest in a five-year pavement management plan. Not only are we now able to dedicate on average an additional $21 million per year for the repair and rehabilitation of our roads, these upgrades will help us begin improving the city’s pavement condition for the first time in more than a decade.

City-wide upgrades

The five-year pavement management plan includes a variety of projects occurring throughout the city, such as major work being done to replace Grant and East streets, and upgrade traffic signals on Willow Pass Road.

What I think residents are most excited about are the projects to repair potholes and smooth out our roads across the city. These “pothole and base repair” projects are underway and will occur in phases.

For a complete list of projects that will launch this spring and summer, visit cityofconcord.org/CIP. In addition to a schedule, you will also find an interactive map that provides information about the work being done, the timeline and the cost. Next month, I’ll provide more details on these locations.

The bottom line is we know our roads need some attention and we have made this a priority. As the weather warms up, you will certainly see more construction zones throughout the city. We ask for your patience.

Direct your questions and comments to the mayor at 925-671-3158 or Laura.Hoffmeister@cityofconcord.org.