It’s Also the Season of Potholes


With the beautiful weather and cherry blossoms in full bloom, it is easy to forget that “Potholepalooza” season is here.

For those unfamiliar, “Potholepalooza” is a month of the year, when the District Department of Transportation is totally dedicated to reporting and restoring potholes. While this is helpful and beneficial as it makes the road much more vehicle-friendly, it also infamously creates traffic jams and delays.

Due to the weather conditions, the start of “Potholepalooza, “which in past years begins at the end of March, was announced April 9. “The unusually cold winter coupled with the snow and temperature fluctuations have all taken a toll on our roads,” said Mayor Vincent Gray in a press release.

It has already been a very productive year for DDOT. The department has patched more than 9,000 potholes this winter alone — with crews patching up more than twice as many potholes this January and February as they did last year. DDOT has decided to step up its game in other ways as well. For instance, it added more patching crews and increased the goal for fixing potholes from 72 hours to 48 hours.

During “Potholepalooza,” Washingtonians are encouraged to report potholes to get in touch with the city through a number of avenues. For instance, one could call 311, tweet @DDOTDC, or email potholepalooza@dc.gov.

For more information, such as a map of the potholes that are closed, open, and pending is found on this website: [http://gis.ddot.dc.gov/potholeapp/](http://gis.ddot.dc.gov/potholeapp/)

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