MILWAUKEE — Tuesday, Governor Tony Evers made his way to Milwaukee during his annual statewide “Pothole Patrol” tour to help fix roads and talk about his administrations investments to improve Wisconsin roads. Both Governor Evers and Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson rolled up their sleeves and got their hands dirty to fill in potholes on 2nd St., in between W. Warnimont and W. Morgan Ave.
Tuesday, @GovEvers and Mayor @CavalierJohnson rolled up their sleeves, picked up their shovels and filled potholes on Milwaukee's south side on 2nd St. This was a part of the Governor's "Pothole Patrol" statewide tour.@620wtmj pic.twitter.com/nX3r0PTv9n
— Julien Johnson (@jujuelz_is) May 1, 2024
Governor Evers has done this statewide “Pothole Patrol” tour since 2019, and this is his fourth straight year doing the tour. On Tuesday, he also stopped in Fond Du Lac, WI, and on Wednesday, he was in Superior, WI.
Governor Evers said Tuesday: “It’s great to be in Milwaukee today filling potholes,” he said. “When I ran for this office a few years ago, we talked about fixing the darn roads, and this is a part of fixing them.”
He gave props to the Department of Public Works staff that joined them in the filling in the potholes.
“We’re working with some really talented people today. Obviously, they put [the mayor and I] to shame, but it’s really important that we think about how the state actually helps to fund some of these things.”
Since 2019, the Governor’s administration has improved over 7,400 miles of roads and nearly 1,780 bridges since 2019, and in just last year, they’ve improved more than 900 miles of road and more than 200 bridges.
Evers said: “This last budget… we were able to, with the mayor’s help, get shared revenue in a much better place, and we brought in another hundred million dollars to add onto what happens at the local level as far as fixing the roads.”
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson agreed and said road investments are critically important.
“In the budget that I proposed for 2024, we make one of the largest investments in our roads that we’ve seen in some time in Milwaukee… I’m proud of that,” he said. “If we have more resources, then we’ll make more investments in the roads.”
City Engineer for the city of Milwaukee Kevin Muhs said that in order for the city to know about potholes that need filling, then they need the community to report the potholes when they see them.
“When a resident files a service request, which they do need to do, they [need] to call 286-CITY, go to milwaukee.gov and click for action, or they download the Milwaukee mobile action app,” he said. “Once they report it to us, it can take a little bit of time depending on whether or not we have crews ready or not to be staffed in that area.”
He said they aim to get out to where the report was within three days, but that process can take a week or two longer in the spring and summer time because there are more potholes being reported. He also explained how they typically fill in a pothole.
“Once the crews get to the site, they’re going to clear out the pothole, using either a blower or a broom, because if we don’t clear it out the asphalt doesn’t stick. There is a tar treatment we can put down in some cases to make it stick better,” he said. “We [then] put the hot mix asphalt on, and then we either roll or tamp it down to make sure that the hot mix sticks in that pothole as long as possible.”
Mayor Johnson also urged citizens to always call in potholes when they see them.
“Too often when people roll over a pothole, they think that the person that comes behind them will call it in or perhaps the person who rolled over it before them will call it in. That doesn’t always happen.” he said. “Everybody should call that in, so we can fix it.”
He said citizens can also contact their alderman if they spot a pothole that needs to be filled.
