The weather is changing, but one thing remains in Bridgeport and beyond thanks to the winter that appears to officially be in the rearview mirror – potholes.

 

Although city officials plan on doing work on potholes on Bridgeport-owned streets, they plan on doing something else that they’ve done in recent years. City Manager Kim Haws said that city staff will continue to work on repairing potholes on several state-owned roadways that run throughout Bridgeport.

 

The roads in question include Johnson Avenue, which has been littered with potholes this year. In early February, city crews did temporary pothole repairs on the state roadway. However, the temporary patches have not held up and that requires the city to patch them again.

 

The patchwork is taking place even though Johnson Avenue is scheduled to be repaved this year. The roadway will see a fresh coat of asphalt from near Bridgeport Middle School all the way to near Sheetz.

 

So why would the city handle repairs on a state roadway?

 

“We’re not necessarily interested in who owns the right of way or whose street it is. Our concern is that our residents have to maneuver potholes and it creates a safety hazard and can lead to damage to vehicles,” said City Manager Kim Haws. “We’ve always had the direction to take care of the potholes and work things out with the Division of Highways or whoever owns the right of way. I can tell you the DOH hasn’t had any concern with us handling that.”

 

The DOH also hasn’t had any concern and are even helping Bridgeport on fixing another road issue on a state road. Some may not know that Virginia Avenue is also a state roadway, but the city has an interest in taking care of a long-going problem there.

 

When Haws informed members of City Council this past Monday the city would be doing patch work on Johnson Avenue and other state-owned roads in Bridgeport, he also told them about why there has been construction taking place on Virginia Avenue. The city has been, and will continue to, replace drop inlets on that roadway.

 

“Again, the drop inlets become a safety hazard because people try to avoid them,” said Haws. “When we approached the DOH about doing the fix to them there wasn’t any hesitation. They’re overwhelmed with what they’re trying to do so fixing those inlets aren’t high on their priority list. They did lend support (including flag crews to direct traffic) and will help as we fix a few more.”

 

The drop inlets are the catch basins (similar to manholes) that catch water running down the roadway. The inlets were well below the level grade of the road surface and many drivers sought to avoid them. Work should continue for several more days to finish up those the city are looking to get fixed, which will cause some delays.

 

“There are some traffic issues, but this is definitely worth any minor delay or inconvenience,” Haws said.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo from Feb. 2 shows city staff and DOH traffic control working on Johnson Avenue, while work is being done on another drop inlet on Virginia Avenue near the intersection with Water Street on Tuesday.