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1. Why was last year such a bad year for potholes?

The 2018-2019 snow season saw a significant number of smaller snow events over shorter periods of time. Because of the multiple rain, snow and ice events, damage to City streets was more severe. These multiple events over short periods of time prevented Public Works from transitioning to temporary repairs with cold-mix. The 2018-2019 season also produced a significant number of freeze-thaw cycles where temperatures were above freezing during the day and below freezing at night. Damage occurs during and after the freeze-thaw cycle. During years with less frequent snow events and freeze-thaw cycles damage is significantly reduced.

2. What is the freeze thaw cycle?

During a freeze-thaw cycle, water from rain, melting ice or snow gets down into cracks and crevices in the surface pavement. When the pavement freezes, the pavement expands, popping out existing repairs and weakening the surface. When it thaws, the pounding of tires breaks up the weakened pavement. Existing pothole repairs are further damaged during the next snow event by snowplows catching them from the freeze-thaw cycle.

3. How do I request a repair?

Requests for repairs can be made through our website, www.cityoflavista.org, and clicking on the “Report a Concern” tab in the upper right hand corner of the page. Repairs will be made as crews enter the district where the request was made, with a goal of completing the requested repair within 10 working days. (More time might be needed depending on the number of active requests.)