ALBANY — If you hit a pothole on April 14, call the mayor.
Mayor Dorcey Applyrs on Friday vowed to fix every pothole on city streets in the next 10 days. Speaking at the city Department of General Services headquarters in front of a new, purpose-built pothole-filling truck DGS workers have come to call “The Beast,” Applyrs said she had heard the pleas from residents — drivers, cyclists and pedestrians alike — to do something about the state of the city’s roads.
“It’s the number one complaint I get as mayor,” she said.
She said DGS workers would be fanning out across the city to blitz the offending divots and foxholes with asphalt. Applyrs said another goal of the initiative was to zero out the number of potholes on the city’s SeeClickFix alert page, which currently stands at 150.
When asked if reporters had heard correctly that the job would be done in 10 days, Applyrs said, “Yes, that is correct.”
She said workers could be traveling on designated routes to fill potholes before any complaints are even lodged.
That is also where “The Beast” comes in. Where in the past multiple trucks were needed to carry the materials, tools and personnel to fix a pothole, the new $275,000 task-specific vehicle can carry five workers and haul four tons of hot asphalt.
“It’s kind of an all-in-one tool to fill potholes,” said DGS Deputy Commissioner Frank Zeoli. “We’re really excited about it.”
Like other cities, Albany had been using a less resilient form of asphalt known as cold patch to fill potholes during the winter months. With the merciful dawn of spring, potholes can now be filled with sterner stuff.
“When you’re using the hot asphalt, it stays in permanently,” Zeoli said. “That’s your hope.”