Pittsburgh will ease some suffering for residents plagued by pothole-packed streets, but an ultimate fix will be years in the making, Mayor Bill Peduto said on Wednesday.
Public Works Director Mike Gable said 550 miles of asphalt streets — more than 60 percent of the city's 866 miles — are rated “zero” for being in the worst condition possible. Paving them would cost $70 million to $80 million, and the city can afford to pave only 27 miles in 2014.
Peduto blamed the problem on years of neglect.
“We have been underfunding our capital budget for well over a decade,” he said, addressing reporters along Brookline Boulevard, one of the city's worst streets, as vehicles bumped over potholes.
He said a fix can be achieved through a financial plan for paying off city debt, closing employee pension deficits, devoting more money to a woefully underfunded capital budget and collecting more contributions from tax-free nonprofits.
For now, the city will get by with a $7 million annual paving budget.
Pittsburgh is partnering with Carnegie Mellon University to develop a system for prioritizing repairs, the mayor said. Vehicle-mounted cameras would record street conditions that a computer would evaluate. Peduto hopes to implement it this year. The main cost would be cameras at $400 each.
Crews will begin repairing streets that aren't on a paving schedule by cutting asphalt around potholes into a square, then filling and sealing them. Operations Chief Guy Costa said patches last longer that way.
Peduto said crews will patch potholes within three days of receiving a complaint through the city's 311 response center. To date, he said, 92 percent of 6,142 pothole complaints have been resolved.
The most complaints have come from Brookline, East Liberty, Shadyside and Bloomfield. Councilman Dan Gilman, who represents Shadyside, said East End roads are the worst in the city.
“There are streets that we literally had to mill because we could not patch the potholes and create safe driving conditions,” he said.
Rain delayed the start of the spring paving season, but Peduto vowed that crews would start Thursday, beginning with Negley Run Boulevard. Crews will pave Brookline Boulevard within two weeks.
“I've lived in Brookline for 40 years, and I would say this is the worst it's been,” said Kimberly Manfredo, 54.
Last year, the city began a $7 million rehab of the boulevard, which 4,000 vehicles travel daily. The project includes resurfacing from Pioneer Avenue to Starkamp Street, installing sidewalks, extending curbs, landscaping and upgrading crosswalks, traffic signals and lighting.
Costa said a complete paving schedule would be made available within days.
Peduto's street, Hastings in Point Breeze, is filled with potholes.
“I know if I do have my street repaved, it will be a (news) story,” he said. “If I don't have my street repaved, my neighbors will start throwing bricks through my windows.”
Bob Bauder is a Trib Total Media staff writer. Reach him at 412-765-2312 or bbauder@tribweb.com.
