App speeds up street department’s work on potholes

JACKSON, Tenn. — On Monday, the Jackson Street Department had crews out fixing potholes.

The crews headed to various areas throughout the city based on alerts from Ready311, an app that allows users within the city limits to report different issues, including potholes.

Jackson Street Department Superintendent Johnny Weddle said that Ready311 is a great app, and that it’s important to use it to report any pothole.

Weddle explained that the city crews have tablets that they are able to look at as soon as a pothole is reported on the app.

“It gives them a quick turnaround, fast response. Most of the time if they get that 311 information, they can go right then and fix it,” Weddle said.

Work began around 9 a.m. as the Jackson Street Department started working on a large pothole on Weatheridge Drive.

Weddle explained the process behind fixing some of these potholes.

“What this application here does is it actually heats up a spot and brings the old surface back to a new surface. Sometimes we have to add some good mix back with it, but most of the time we don’t because it’s actually reheating the old surface, bringing it back to life,” Weddle said.

He told us that it can be a slow process to fix a pothole depending on how severe it is, and that they may get done with three or four a day with the main machine that they use to fix them.

“Cause you have to wait until it burns, and it depends on the mix. And then sometimes your sub-base underneath the surface mix, if it’s bad, it will take a little bit longer as well,” Weddle said.

If you see a pothole, you can also report it by calling the Jackson Street Department at (731) 425-8541.

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