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EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER January 19, 2006 City of Eugene 777 Pearl Street, Room 105 Eugene, Oregon 97401-2793 (541) 682-5010 (541) 682-5414 (FAX) www.eugene-or.gov IN THIS WEEK’S EDITION PROFUSION OF POTHOLES PITS MAINTENANCE AGAINST THE ELEMENTS “LOST TICKETS” FOUND th EUGENE PARKS CELEBRATE 100 ANNIVERSARY EUGENE PUBLIC LIBRARY E-MAIL SERVICE AROUND THE CITY Profusion of Potholes Pits Maintenance Against the Elements Public Works crews repaired 1,077 street potholes in the first 17 days of January. By comparison, crews repaired 252 potholes over the entire month of December. And even more potholes are expected to surface as a result of the recent heavy rains. A pothole is a street surface failure that can take different forms. The failures can range from a single, small-diameter hole to a larger area where the entire top layer of asphalt crumbles away along the wheel path of a travel lane. Poor drainage, age of the asphalt, and vehicle traffic frequency influence the development of this type of street surface failure. The profusion of potholes is typical during the winter months due to freezing temperatures and higher levels of rainfall that crack and weaken asphalt street surfaces. As groundwater saturates surrounding soil, roadbeds become softer and more vulnerable to the development of surface failures. Rain runoff also Before and after penetrates the street through surface cracks. When the weight of traffic is added to the mix, the top layers of asphalt can separate and break away, creating what is traditionally known as a "pothole." To ensure the safety of the traveling public, maintenance crews repair deep potholes during the winter, even when it’s raining, using a high-performance polymer material called “cold mix.” More effective ongoing preventative maintenance programs such as crack sealing, roadside ditch maintenance and summer season hot mix asphalt repair can help to reduce the frequency of potholes. Staff also uses a comprehensive pavement management program to prioritize streets for repairs such as full-street overlays to maximize the service life of Eugene’s pavements. For more information about street repairs, contact Street Surface Manager Eric Johnson at 682-4904. “Lost Tickets” Found th Hult Center custodian, Judy McLaughlin, was giving a routine pressure wash to the ramp at the 6 Avenue entrance to the Hult Center lobby when she uncovered a small bronze sculpture -- what staff and community members have come to call the “Lost Tickets.” The sculpture, a ticket envelope with two Hult Center show tickets, was accidentally covered up during a ramp resurfacing project in the summer of 2003. The ramp was treated with a special coating to make it safer in the wet weather. Following the procedure, staff used metal detectors and other methods to try and locate the piece of lost art, but was unsuccessful. Fortunately, the sculpture was undamaged as the contractor had sealed it for protection during the resurfacing project. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 1 March 3, 2006