TOWN OF BRANT, N.Y. -- Erie County highway department crews are about to get some help as they battle potholes.
Because the biggest threat of snow is behind us, workers will transition off of their around-the-clock schedules, providing more crews to fill potholes.
"That'll take the guys off of nights, which nighttime we can't have them out there doing potholes, dangerous whatever, so you get a full contingent of people on our day crew," said Charles Sickler, who heads up engineering for the county highway department.
In addition to more workers, the county will also have hot asphalt available soon. All winter, they must rely on so-called "cold patch", which is more expensive and doesn't hold up as well.
"I mean it can last a week. It can last a few weeks," Sickler said. "But it's not good enough."
Sickler and other county officials updated legislators during a Public Safety Committee meeting. Lawmakers asked about the county's pothole hotline and new email address. So far, about 400 calls have been made, with about 250 (or 62.5%) actually for county roads. The others were complaints about roads owned by the state, city or other municipality.
- ERIE COUNTY POTHOLE HOTLINE: 716-858-7966
- Email address: potholes@erie.gov
Officials say it's important to call the right municipality when reporting potholes. For state roads, you can call 1-800-POTHOLE. In the City of Buffalo, drivers can report potholes to the 3-1-1 line.
