PennDOT is investing $461 million statewide for road and bridge repairs this season, with approximately $2.6 million allocated to the City of Erie to address pothole damage.
The funding comes as spring weather reveals widespread road deterioration across the state.
Erie DA’s office warns Kia’s Hyundai’s still being targeted by thieves
Pennsylvania officials said the region’s unique freeze-thaw cycles create more significant pavement damage compared to many other states.
Larry Shifflet, executive deputy secretary of PennDOT, explained that regional weather patterns are the primary cause for the high volume of road damage.
He noted that Pennsylvania experiences more frequent temperature fluctuations than some neighboring states.
“If you were to compare us to Michigan, Michigan doesn’t have the freeze-thaw cycle that Pennsylvania has,” Shifflet said. “They generally freeze, stays frozen, then it thaws. These freeze-thaw cycles really impact the magnitude, number of potholes.”
In Erie, city crews have already started patching damaged areas, including the intersection of French and East 41st streets.
Jeff Gibbens, assistant director of Erie Public Works, said current conditions reflect a trend seen over several recent seasons.
“The last couple years have been pretty rough, so we have about the same road conditions we had last year at this time of year,” Gibbens said.
To address the damage, Erie has moved its personnel from winter maintenance schedules to active street repair.
The city is currently operating at its full capacity for road maintenance.
“We’ve brought all of our crews back from the winter schedule, so we have a full complement at the streets department right now,” Gibbens said. “We’re deploying anywhere from three to five trucks a day to go out and do pothole patching throughout the city.”
While the streets department actively monitors for damaged pavement, officials also rely on help from residents.
People are encouraged to report potholes by calling the department directly or by submitting a request through the online Citizen Response Center.
Local, regional shipbuilders form new alliance to bring opportunity
Gibbens said the city maintains a goal for responding to these reports during the work week. “We have multiple ways you can do that. Once we get them on the list, Monday through Friday, we try to get them in 24 hours,” Gibbens said.
City officials stated that current repair efforts are only the beginning of the season. More road work is scheduled to continue across Erie in the coming weeks.
To report a city street pothole, you can call the pothole reporting line at 814-870-1340.
All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by WJET/WFXP. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat information into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by WJET/WFXP staff before being published.