By Dominic Konareski
Voice Writer
Over the course of the past month, I have noticed the large number of potholes in my Allingtown area of West Haven. As both a driver and sometimes a passenger, weaving around both big and small potholes has been common over the past several months.
My experiences have seemingly been shared by fellow West Haven residents, who have taken to social media to express their frustrations.
Trying to get more opinions, I took to the Facebook forum West Haven- The Way It Is to get a broader public view and mindset.
Receiving over 30 comments, I saw a mixed view.
One person stated, “some of the potholes in my area are deep enough to swim in,” while another said how they contacted Public Works and explained the location and severity of the pothole, stating “the hole was repaired in one week.”
A comment made by West Haven resident Jean Lindsay Brunt offered a suggestion rather than a complaint or praise. Brunt talked about how she would like to see a website where potholes can be reported with photo evidence, which would allow Public Works to “go get any major ones first.”
The majority of frustrations have seemed to accumulate over these past several winter months, which saw a period of heavy snowfall – the most the city has seen in years. Along with the snowfall, and overall sub-30-degree temperatures, having a set timeframe of repair is pushed back due to the asphalt plants being closed during these winter months.
So, with those two main factors in mind, along with seeing the feedback from others, I developed several questions myself, and I decided to get those question marks filled with answers that will also hopefully answer a lot of the public’s concern too.
I reached out directly to West Haven Mayor Dorinda Borer and asked her three questions: 1- How is the town prioritizing which roads get repaired first and what criteria(s) is being used? 2- What steps are being taken to prevent the potholes from recurring, rather than just a temporary patch? 3- Does the administration have a particular budget set aside to repair potholes?
Mayor Borer’s response was on-point and very informative, as she also highlighted the winter all of us Westie’s had.
“This was a very bad winter so the combination of the plowing, the salt and road cracks has led to potholes, so we are aggressively addressing them,” she said.
Mayor Borer also said that since the reopening of the asphalt plant on March 21, the city has filled 120 potholes.
Borer told the voice how the city purchased a hot patch machine two years ago, forgoing the cold patches. Potholes in West Haven were previously filled with cold patches, which are “very temporary and just pulls up and makes a mess of the pavement.” The city using a hot patch machine now allows the pothole(s) to be filled and smoothed out to provide a more permanent solution.
On top of that, the city has also been in contact with the Southern Connecticut Gas to have fewer pavement issues. The mayor said, “We also have contacted the Gas Company as the paving required for trenches they excavate needs to be improved, which they are working on.”
Overall, per Mayor Borer, there have been a total of 59 streets in West Haven that have been paved in the past two years. This 59-street-total given by Mayor Borer shows more streets paved in two years than the past nine years combined. This showcases her administration’s and the Public Works department’s hard work throughout her first term and now beginning of her second term as well.
Because of that, I feel very confident in the mayor’s work and the work from our Public Works Department. both in the recent past and upcoming future, along with the road improvements in the coming weeks as well.