WESTFIELD (WWLP) – Westfield Mayor Brian Sullivan asked the City Council to approve $200,000 to purchase a new type of machine that will fix potholes.
Potholes flatten tires, bend rims, and rip the undercarriage of your car every year, and they’re expensive.
“Something around $200-$250,” said Quevia Amaral of Springfield, who was repairing her tire after hitting a pothole.
“You can damage your rim, damage your tire.” Town Fair Tire manager David Harper said. “You could knock the car out of alignment. You could bend the tire rod, bottom ball joint, and lower control arm.”
That’s why Sullivan is asking the City Council to approve the purchase of infrared equipment that heats the area that neads to be filled. The repairs last longer than standard “hot patch” and the equipment can be used year round.
Westfield DPW Director David Billips jokingly said his crews have started naming reoccurring potholes.
“Because we do the same ones every year, sometimes twice a year,” he said. “It isn’t as quick as the technique we have now, but it lasts a lot longer. In the long run it will last longer because you wont be revisiting the same roads over and over again.”
According to the Boston Herald, in 2014, the state set aside $40-million for pothole repairs.
If approved, Westfield will pay $200,000 over 5 years for the infrared equipment. Sullivan wants to use $40,000 from the city’s free cash account for the first of five payments.
