Potholes in Farmingdale 'Under Control'

While Long Island drivers continue to battle the remnants of a particularly severe winter, local officials say that the business of keeping Farmingdale roadways smooth and clear of jarring potholes is largely unchanged from previous years.

“Our repair efforts so far have been roughly the same as last year,” said Phyllis Barry, a spokesperson for the . Potholes are typically caused by frequent freeze and thaw cycles that cause asphalt to contract and then expand.

Pothole repair, according to Barry, is part of the town’s highway budget and is considered to be road maintenance. “We’re not really over budget this year regarding pothole repairs,” Barry said. “When we’re not dealing with , we’re always on pothole patrol.”

Detailing the repair process, Barry explained that when the weather is cold, repairs must be made using cold patches, which are only temporary fixes. Then, when temperatures rise sufficiently, crews return to a pothole and make permanent repairs using hot asphalt. Hot asphalt plants do not operate when temperatures are generally 20 degrees Fahrenheit and below.

In addition, Barry added that roads must be dry in order to do proper patches. “We can’t have moisture on the roadway when we’re patching, otherwise the fix will not hold,” she said.

“There has been no uptick in complaints this year regarding potholes,” said Tim Ruggieri, spokesman for the Town of Babylon. “It’s definitely been a rough winter and we’ve had a lot of snow but there really hasn’t been much of an impact on our budget,” Ruggieri said, noting that pothole repairs in the town come not out of a snow budget but out of standard highway maintenance.

He also noted that in addition to repairing any potholes that may arise, the town is continuing to reconstruct its roadways. Begun in 2003, the town has continued to update its network of roads and has spent more than $60 million on road improvements having resurfaced 460 miles of the town’s 537 miles of roads.

“We’ve got the pothole situation under control,” said Ray Ryan, highway foreman for the Village of Farmingdale. Ryan, who said that pothole repair is also considered road maintenance, explained that the Village’s response to potholes has been similar to last year.

“I don’t think we’re over budget, but we’re definitely out there every day looking for problematic potholes,” Ryan said. “We’re seeing about the same amount of potholes that we saw last year. Not much difference.”