AKRON, Ohio — City of Akron road crews are using specialized Dura Patcher vehicles this week to fix troublesome potholes that have popped up this season.
The city purchased two of the specialized trucks for $300,000 each.
The trucks use an emulsion and an aggregate similar to tar, which crews aim with a hose to quickly fill a pothole.
Anthony Dolly with Akron Public Works says the patches aren't just temporary.
"It's very durable. It lasts longer. This is a permanent fix for these potholes. We will not be out in three to six months to fill this pothole again," Dolly said.
Unlike other patches, the weather doesn't really affect when the city can fill the potholes; it can be used down to 5 degrees.
Tasha Love, who drives one of the trucks, operates a joystick and pushes a button to fill the holes.
"It lasts longer than the cold patch. I deal with the cold patch as well as the hot mix, and on the concrete with the emulsion and the rock, it just seems to settle better," Love said.
The city is using the trucks, along with road crews using the old-fashioned method of shoveling and tamping patch material, to fix holes on Akron roads.
"We have three, four or five crews out at at a time patching potholes, whereas this this is just a one-man opportrunity," Dolly said.
According to the city, each truck can fill about 150 potholes over a day and a half.
The city plans to deploy the trucks each weekday.
It's good news for drivers like Mike Ciraldo and Karen Stallings.
"It's just frustrating," Ciraldo said about the potholes all over Akron. "When you're getting like car-eating potholes, it's a completely different problem altogether."
Stallings had to get her car repaired due to the potholes.
"You got to get a wheel alignment because you're hitting these holes. It's really bad," she said.
If you have a pothole problem that you're experiencing in your neighborhood, email me at bjones@wews.com.
