WITH STREET REPAVING IN HIGH GEAR, MAYOR DE BLASIO ANNOUNCES FIFTY PERCENT DECLINE IN POTHOLES SINCE 2014

DOT names some of the major streets to be paved this fiscal year across all five boroughs; since 2014, DOT has repaved more than 4,500 lane-miles, nearly 1/4^th of City streets, an unprecedented pace

  Mayor Bill de Blasio today announced that thanks to a ten-year investment of $1.6 billion in street repaving, the number of potholes in New York City has declined by over fifty percent - 207,306 so far this year compared to 444,835 as of this date in 2014, a reduction of more than fifty percent.  Since 2014, DOT has paved 4,500 lane-miles of roadways out of 19,000 total Citywide, or nearly 25 percent. The Mayor made the announcement while visiting a DOT paving crew along Valentine Avenue in the Tremont section of the Bronx.

“When we took office in 2014, a drive down many City streets could be a bone-rattling experience,” said Mayor de Blasio. “Thanks to the hard work of DOT crews, rides are smoother everywhere, on major roads like the FDR Drive to smaller residential streets in neighborhoods around the City. But the turnaround is not complete; while freshly paved streets mean many fewer potholes, we still have too many, so crews will be both quickly filling potholes and keeping up the pace of repaving in the months ahead.”

“Thanks to Mayor de Blasio’s unprecedented investment in paving, the quality of City roads is up and the number of pothole complaints is down,” said DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg. “This fall, our crews will continue to work – literally day and night -- to provide even smoother rides.  We ask that if drivers encounter a paving crew, they please give them the necessary space and maintain a safe speed as we try to pave as many streets as possible before winter weather sets in.”

As part of its efforts to maintain work-zone safety, including for Roadways crews repaving and filling potholes, DOT will in the next week be introducing a new Vision Zero “Work Zone Heroes” public-service advertising campaign. The ad encourages safe driving around work zones and features actual DOT employees in the Roadways, Traffic Operations, Bridges and Sidewalk Inspection Management (SIM) divisions. 

DOT named some of the major streets planned for repaving for the current fiscal year, which ends June 30^th, 2018.

Queens:

 Union St, Northern Blvd to 31 Rd

Roosevelt Ave., 57 to 61 Streets

Roosevelt Ave, 69 to 73 Streets

N/B Van Wyck Service Road, 138 St to Liberty Ave

Brooklyn:

Colonial Rd, Bay Ridge Pkwy to 85 St

5^th Ave, Flatbush Ave to Prospect Ave

Staten Island:

Goethals Road, Richmond Ave to Western Ave.

Narrows Road, Fingerboard Rd to Britton Ave.

West Shore Expressway Service Road west, Arden Ave/ Muldoon Ave Exit to Bloomingdale Road

Manhattan:

W. 96^th St., Central Park West to Riverside Dr.

West End Ave., W. 72^nd St. to W. 59^th St.

Central Park -- West and East Drives in the upper 90’s and 100’s

Bronx:

E. Gun Hill Rd, Webster Ave to Wayne Ave

Broadway, Mosholu Ave to W 262 Street

East Kingsbridge Rd, Jerome Ave to East Fordham Rd

DOT also provided the latest number of potholes repaired under the de Blasio Administration:

Calendar Year To Date:		10/02/14		10/02/15	10/02/16		10/02/17
Bronx		74,349		65,594	42,492		46,916
Brooklyn		112,340		92,506	46,747		43,627
Manhattan		81,565		65,599	36,859		26,355
Queens		117,312		127,798	79,012		62,451
Staten Island		59,269		54,989	26,679		27,957
Total		444,835		406,486	231,789		207,306

Borough	Number of Potholes Repaired  as of 10/2/2017
Bronx	260,889
Brooklyn	325,646
Manhattan	234,987
Queens	430,101
Staten Island	188,837
Total	1,440,460

In 2015, the Mayor announced a $1.6 billion commitment to resurface roads all over the city over ten years. DOT repaved 1,265 lane miles in FY16, and 1,324 lane miles in FY17.  So far in FY18, crews have resurfaced over 500 lane-miles.  It is the highest three-year output of paved lane-miles in DOT’s recorded history.

DOT both procures and produces asphalt at its two plants for resurfacing and filling potholes. In 2017, DOT used nearly 1.3 million tons of asphalt.  During pothole season, which generally begins with the onset of cold weather in December, anywhere from 25 to 75 separate DOT pothole crews are dispatched daily. The crews work in all five boroughs, responding to requests from residents and local stakeholders. The average response time to repair a pothole is now less than two days.  For information about DOT’s ongoing work to address potholes and maintain the City’s road network, please visit www.nyc.gov/dot .

Pothole conditions should be reported immediately to The Daily Pothole or to 311.