Pothole Patrol, Street Cleaning Work Underway In Alexandria

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Spring cleaning season is upon us. For the City of Alexandria, that means pothole patrol, street sweeping and cleaning of gateway areas.

The city is responsible for maintaining its roadways, and part of that work is fixing potholes. Potholes are formed when water from melted snow and ice enters the pavement and softens it, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation. The pavement expands when it refreezes, leaving gaps inside when the ice melts. Between the refreezing and melting combined with the weight of vehicle traffic, the pavement can start to break up, creating potholes.

Potholes are common in the spring as warmer temperatures thaw the pavement, creating the air gaps that can cause the pavement to crumble. Alexandria's maintenance crews began pothole patrol Monday and will continue the enhanced work through April 29. Residents should expect periodic lane closures during pothole repairs.

Residents can submit requests to fix potholes in the City of Alexandria through the 311 system. The spring pothole patrol only applies to major road networks but not public alleys and parking spaces. Before submitting a request, residents can see current requests to fix potholes through the city's 311 system.

The pothole patrol effort is divided into 11 zones. Crews will work on multiple zones at a time to give each zone at least one pass.

The city's repaving program also resumes at the start of April. The city has a list of prioritized roads for repaving with the goal of addressing the worst conditions first. Affected residents are notified one week in advance of repaving on their street. "No parking" signs will be placed in affected areas during repaving work. Repaving is scheduled to continue through mid-November.

Another spring initiative will be spring cleaning of gateway areas starting Saturday. Entry points to the city that will have enhanced cleaning are Telegraph Road, Duke Street and Interstate 395, Van Dorn Street and Eisenhower Avenue, and King Street and I-395. Work will continue on Saturdays until completed.

Street sweeping is well underway since the start of March. The first pass of street sweeping on all of Alexandria's 560 lane miles is expected to take 12 weeks. Residents should observe temporary "no parking" signs when street sweeping occurs on their street. When inclement weather occurs, street sweeping will not happen, but parking restrictions will still be enforced. Additional street sweeping can be requested through 311.