Hoboken Unleashes 'Pothole Killers' on City Streets

Residents of Hoboken take notice… voracious killers will soon be roaming the streets of your city.

Pothole killers, that is.

According to a release, the City of Hoboken will be completely repaving more than 50 blocks of roadway beginning this spring, focusing on a “faster, more efficient, less expensive, and longer-lasting approach to repairing potholes.”

Enter the “Pothole Killer” trucks.

With spray injection technology, a single vehicle operator controls a hydraulic boom attached to the trucks, which clears the pothole of debris, applies liquid asphalt to fill and seal it, and then tops it off with a dry aggregate coating.

The whole process takes roughly 90 seconds per pothole, the release stated.

“I thank Director Pellegrini for bringing this great new technology to Hoboken that will save us money and make long-lasting repairs faster than ever before,” stated Mayor Dawn Zimmer. “We’re committed to quickly completing these repairs and repaving more than 50 blocks of our worst roads this spring.”

According to the release, on three days in January and two in April, a single Pothole Killer truck filled nearly 1,000 potholes. The truck will continue to be used to make repairs in the days ahead, stated the release. Residents can assist by reporting potholes via Hoboken311, or through the Hoboken 311 application for iOS and Android.

“In the past, we used cold patch to temporarily repair potholes and then had to make permanent repairs in the spring with hot asphalt when the asphalt plants opened,” stated Hoboken Environmental Services Director Leo Pellegrini.

“To make matters worse, the cold patch material would often be ripped out, requiring us to contract for heavy duty equipment to vacuum up the gravel and rocks from roads. This new approach eliminates an entire step and is faster, safer, less expensive, and even works in below freezing temperatures. In addition, by not tying up our resources on repairing potholes, our crews are all focused on cleaning up our streets now that all the snow has melted.”

The City is coordinating with Hudson County for repairs to county roads, especially 1st Street and Observer Highway, stated the release.

So far, the Pothole Killer has repaired hundreds of potholes and utility cuts along Washington Street, which is planned for a full repaving in 2016. In addition to repairing potholes, more than 50 blocks of roadway are scheduled for repaving, including the following streets:

· 4th Street (Jackson St to Grand St)

· 5th Street (Jackson St to Madison St)

· 6th Street (Jefferson St to Monroe St)

· 8th Street (Hudson St to Castle Pt Terr)

· 9th Street (Hudson St to Castle Pt Terr)

· 11th Street (Willow Ave to Washington St) - following completion of PSE&G work

· Bloomfield Street (Observer Hwy to 14th St) – 10th St to 14th St following completion of PSE&G work

· Henderson Street (Observer Hwy to Marin Blvd)

· Jackson Street (Paterson Ave to 4th St)

· Madison St (13th St to 15th St)

· Monroe Street (Newark St to 3rd St)

· Newark Street (Washington St to Hudson St)

· Observer Highway (Hudson St to Henderson St)

Photo courtesy of Juan Melli

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