Milwaukee potholes; city works to address ongoing problem

Yahoo

23-05-2025

The Brief
Milwaukee DPW officials are working to fix potholes across the city.
Crews say how busy the street is and how hazardous the pothole is will determine the response time.
It's an issue Milwaukee drivers know all too well.
MILWAUKEE - A roller coaster ride – that's how some drivers said they feel when navigating Milwaukee's potholes.
Right now, patching crews are working on fixing the streets.
What we know
The City of Milwaukee Department of Public Works (DPW) said at this time of year, response time is slower. But they are bringing in other city staff to help.
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Waldemar Rivera's National Auto Tech & Towing is in a convenient spot, depending on how you look at it. His shop is surrounded by potholes near 7th and National.
"There are cars you see, they hit one, their tire goes," Rivera said. "The holes just sink. And they are making big potholes."
He said he gets roughly 10 customers a month dealing with pothole damage.
Dig deeper
DPW crews are in full swing, filling about 100 potholes a day.
Street services manager Tom Wangerin said because there was less freezing and thawing this winter into spring, requests for pothole fixes are down almost 40%.
"We're sitting in a much better place when it comes to our backlog and keeping up with the influx of requests," Wangerin said.
There have been approximately 3,200 pothole requests this year, per the DPW. Last year at this time, that number was around 5,200.
At 5th and Mitchell, crews patched up an entire block of potholes on Thursday morning.
Crews say how busy the street is and how hazardous the pothole is will determine the response time.
"We're averaging about 4.5 days to close out a service request," Wangerin said. "Weekday overtime right now is in full swing."
What you can do
Back at Rivera's shop, he encourages you to keep your car in good condition, so pothole patches don't cause more bumps in your road.
"Invest in the cars to keep good parts on it," he said. "Because if it has a weak part and hits a pothole, it is just going to go."
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If you have car damage from a pothole in the city, you can file a claim at the clerk's office.
Those are reviewed case-by-case.
The city is encouraging residents to report potholes, either through the city's mobile app or by calling 414-286-CITY (2489).
The Source
The information in this post was collected and produced by FOX6 News.