Yes, there are more potholes – but Concord is filling them

“What’s the deal with all of the new potholes?” is a complaint that I have been hearing a lot recently.

Unfortunately, all of the wet weather we’ve had since New Year’s weekend has caused some trouble for our roads.

The rain poured heavily onto and under our pavement –much more so than we’ve seen in the past few drought years. While we all want the rain to alleviate the drought, water is actually an enemy of pavement. Water breaks down the pave- ment, and it can soften the base of the pavement – causing a depression that allows water to puddle. The combination results in a pothole.

Sun exposure creates another problem; it breaks down the asphalt binder and causes minor cracks to appear. During dry years, these minor cracks are not a problem. During wet years, those cracks create the opportunity for water to sit in them and start breaking down the surrounding material.

So, our wet winter weather coupled with the previous few dry years and the constant flow of traffic throughout the city have created the perfect storm for roadway woes.

The good news is that our Public Works team has been hard at working fixing the newly created potholes – many of which you have told us about through our “Concord Connect” mobile app. This tool allows us to hear directly from residents, pinpoint the potholes and put them on a list for quick repair.

Since Jan. 1, 2023, our team has repaired 3,357 potholes throughout the city. Beyond these quick fixes, Concord has a comprehensive pavement maintenance strategy to patch the potholes, seal the cracks and seal-coat a street.

Concord maintains 60 million sq. ft. of local roads.

Before voters passed Measure V – our one-cent sales tax – in November 2020, the city needed approximately $26 million annually to maintain its existing pavement condition. However,