Monterey needs your help patching up potholes

Plenty of potholes after a rainy winter in Monterey.

“Prepping is the key to a longer lasting patch,” said City of Monterey streets and city supervisor Christopher Singh.

Hot mix is being poured onto streets through out Monterey, patching up potholes before they get bigger and worse.

“There are certain parts that are better kept up and its really great,” said Stephen Doolittle. “But other parts, your driving your car over and a pothole hits you out of nowhere.”

A pothole damaged the base of Edwin Pardilla’s car.

“It scared the crap out of me,” said Pardilla. “When you hit a pothole you kind of lose grip or control for like a second. The split second is actually a pretty important thing when your driving.”

Crews said winter storms combined with heavy traffic have caused the streets to loosen up and crumble, creating potholes of all shapes and sizes.

“We go zone to zone and try to catch all the pot holes that we can,” said Singh. “We’re gonna try to do what we can to make sure our roads are safe.”

But they’re not just going at it alone, they’re asking residents to pitch in with hunting down cracked roadways.

“The public is really a big help to us because there’s things that we can’t see but they can.”

They’re asking drivers to call in or submit a service request online if they drive over or see a pothole.

“I think it’s an initiative to make sure that we stay involved as residents, we also are apart of the gatekeepers,” said Doolittle. “We need to make sure that we keep, take care of our city you know.”

So far this year more than 600 potholes have been filled, crews believe they have a lot more to go.

A city-wide street resurfacing project will kick off next week to fix more than two million square feet of streets.

To report a pothole, people can call 831-646-3972 or submit a service request through the city’s website.