Pittsburgh crews take advantage of weather to fill potholes

The pounding, smashing and stumping on any other day would be annoying for residents in Brighton Heights, but Tuesday it was music to Heather Russell's ears.

“I was thrilled. It’s long overdue,” she said.

Russell told Channel 11 she's happy to see Pittsburgh public works crews filling the dozens of potholes on her street.

Across the city, officials say this season they have had more than 5,000 complaints to the 311 helpline.

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“We got some dangerous potholes,” said Public Works Director Mike Gable. “It’s bad all over the place.”

Gable told Channel 11 they will have crews all over the city through Wednesday, hoping they can beat the rain, because water in their cold patch mix won't work.

But if the cold patch is down before the rain comes, it should last until the end of winter.

“A cold patch is temporary means trying to get you through the winter,” Gable said. “Then we can make a hot mix and make it permanent.”

“The city is a big place – thousands of streets. They can’t be everywhere at the same time,” said resident Nick Hatala. “They get here as quick as they can.”

Cox Media Group