City urges El Paso residents to report potholes after storms

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — The recent rainfall in El Paso may have brought relief from the heat, but it also brought a familiar problem to city streets: potholes.

“When rain infiltrates the cracks in asphalt, it seeps down into the base layer,” Randy Garcia, director of the City of El Paso’s Streets and Maintenance Department said. “That moisture weakens the road. Add vehicle traffic on top of it, and eventually the asphalt gives out. That’s when a pothole forms.”

Garcia said potholes usually appear after the rain stops rather than while it’s still falling.

“The subgrade below the asphalt stays wet even after the rain is gone,” he said. “With the weight of vehicles passing over, that’s when you’ll see potholes start to form.”

The city experiences the most pothole activity during and right after monsoon season, when saturated soil beneath roadways accelerates deterioration.

Each pothole repair crew consists of about three workers, plus additional staff who handle traffic control to ensure safety. Crews use a hot mix asphalt to patch the holes.

“We square out the pothole to get clean edges, compact the subgrade, and then fill it,” Garcia said. “Smaller repairs take around 30 to 40 minutes, but larger ones can take a few hours.”

Rather than patching individual holes, the city focuses on areas where multiple potholes appear.

“We have a grid system,” Garcia said. “If we get several calls from a neighborhood, we’ll send a crew to handle all the potholes in that area at once.”

Residents can report potholes by calling 3-1-1.

“We receive hundreds of calls a day,” Garcia said. “The more people who call from the same area, the higher it gets on our priority list.”

He encouraged residents to report even small cracks or early signs of damage before they worsen.

“If you see something that looks like a hazard, call it in,” Garcia said. “The sooner we know, the sooner we can fix it.”

Garcia also warned drivers to be cautious on wet roads and around puddles.

“You don’t know what’s under that water,” he said. “If you hit a pothole at high speed, it can cause serious damage to your vehicle. Be aware of your surroundings and drive safely.”

The city’s Streets and Maintenance Department is responsible for most residential roads and major city streets such as Montana Avenue, Dyer Street, Paisano Drive and Alameda Avenue. Highways and interstates, including I-10, fall under the Texas Department of Transportation.

“If someone calls 311 about a TxDOT road, we forward that information to them,” Garcia said.

Garcia said cooperation between residents and city crews is crucial to keeping El Paso’s streets in good condition.

“We can’t fix what we don’t know about,” he said. “If you see a pothole, report it to 311. That’s the best way to help us keep the roads safe for everyone.”