Pothole repairs are right around the corner, city says

First came a really cold and snowy winter, and then came the potholes.

First came a really cold and snowy winter, and then came the potholes.

 

By Charles Sercombe
You know your city has a bad pothole issue when a major media outlet holds a contest to see if there is a city with a worse problem.
If you were thinking this might be about Hamtramck, you are correct. Recently the Detroit Free Press publised a video on a one-block section of Charest that had over 30 potholes.
The Free Press is asking people from other communities to compare their potholes with Hamtramck’s.
Ouch.
Of course if you had been reading The Review you would know Hamtramck has been struggling with potholes for many years.
It was only back in January that we reported the appearance of potholes earlier than usual and wondered what the city planned to do about it.
Mark Ragsdale, the Director of Public Works, said his department’s two employees are assigned to pothole repair one day a week, weather permitting.
Ragsdale said he is still waiting for warmer weather to arrive to begin a new method of patching potholes with what’s described as a “hot” patch that is sprayed, not shoveled.
In the meantime, City Manager Katrina Powell said she is having the city’s engineering firm survey all of the streets to determine which ones need more than just pothole repairs.
“Some of the streets need to be taken down to the base,” she said.
Powell said she has one street in particular that needs immediate attention: Conant.
Powell has said that she is talking with Wayne County officials about repaving the road, which is owned and maintained by the county. Unfortunately, she said, the county told her that Conant is way down on the list for repaving.
For the past several years city officials have practically begged the county to do something about Conant – but it appears that effort fell on deaf ears.
Shortly before his re-election bid for another term, former Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano told The Review repaving Conant in the Hamtramck portion that it runs through is difficult because it also involves including Detroit.
Ficano lost his bid for re-election.
Powell said she will continue to talk to county officials – including newly-elected County Executive Warren Evans — and promised to be “at the table” when that discussion comes up.
Besides pothole repairs, Powell said city streets will be swept beginning in May.

One Response to Pothole repairs are right around the corner, city says

  1. Mechelle

    March 2, 2022 at 10:45 am

    OMG! At the light, the intersection/corner of Hamtramck Dr and Conant is like a missile exploded and left major holes everywhere…AND I MEAN EVERYHWERE!!!! Cars are being ruined.

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