Money for paving Pittsburgh roads falls short of amount previously announced

PITTSBURGH — PennDOT is blaming temperature swings for a surge in potholes this year.

Nearly 6,000 pothole reports have been made.

Ninety percent of those were addressed through February.

Crews used 9,600 tons of asphalt to repair potholes.

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That's the same weight as 627 PennDOT dump trucks.

Meanwhile, the city of Pittsburgh is trying to find money to pay for potholes.

City Council took a major step Tuesday to a long-term solution for up to 3 miles of city roads.

It approved more than $720,000 in new money to be spent on paving projects this spring and summer.

The money came from several different areas, including $55,000 from the fire equipment budget, $58,000 from swift water rescue and $138,000 initially set aside to replace public works radios.

The money being moved was largely unused, according to city councilman Corey O'Connor.

"It's really chipping away at our budget finding $5,000 here, $30,000 here, $60,000 here just so you can piece together some more money for paving," he said. "We all know we've had a terrible winter season and potholes are everywhere."

The city estimates it will be able to pave an additional 3 miles of road with the money.

Cox Media Group