Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Rahm Emanuel Says He's Sick of Potholes, Too

By Erica Demarest | February 26, 2014 11:54am
 Mayor Rahm Emanuel speaks at a news conference at the 74th Street CTA station.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel speaks at a news conference at the 74th Street CTA station.
View Full Caption
DNAinfo/Erica Demarest

WEST ENGLEWOOD — Even the mayor is sick of potholes.

"I, like everyone else, want to see this done," Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Wednesday at a West Englewood news conference.

"I ordered the staff about two weeks ago to work up a robust repaving plan so [we're] building new roads, not just fixing old ones," he said. "And I ask them about it, oh, I would say, five, six times a day."

Emanuel said the city deployed pothole crews about a week earlier this year than it typically does. Additional crews were added, and city workers have been tackling about 8,500 potholes daily.

The city last month even unveiled an online pothole tracker that allows users to see where potholes had been fixed in the previous week.

Emanuel spoke Wednesday from the 74th Street CTA station, where he helped unveil a new clean-diesel CTA bus. At least 300 of the buses, which feature LED lighting and larger windows, will hit the streets by next year.

"The potholes are going to really test the shock absorbers of the system," Emanuel said, only half-joking.

The mayor said residents can expect a citywide "robust paving plan" in coming weeks and that he'd continue to push for "more crews earlier, getting work done faster."