Officials in Columbus working to fix pothole issues in the city

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) –  Repairing potholes in the city of Columbus just got easier.

City leaders said a new machine will make sure potholes stay filled for a long period of time.

“Man they are everywhere,” said Keith Price, who is accustomed to dodging potholes in Columbus.

Price said the holes in Columbus’ roads have been an issue for some time, and he hopes city officials address this problem soon.

“As long as they fix them I’m okay with it. Until then,” said Price. “I haven’t seen them do anything yet.”

But, Casey Bush, Public Work’s Director for the city of Columbus, said he is aware of the pothole issue and the city has a plan.

Bush said they’ve purchased a new machine that helps keeps those potholes filled for a long period of time.

“I’m so excited about our new machine which is the hot patch machine that we just purchased,” said Bush. “That machine helps us out in the long run. When we do fix the potholes, it’s a permanent fix.”

Bush explained how.

“In the past filling potholes, we were using material called cold mix,” said Bush. “And that cold mix, we would patch the pothole. Next, get heavy rain, cars would hit that pothole and rain will get into the material, it would bring that pothole back.”

In addition to the new machine, the city has launched a digital service to help you report a pothole in your area.

“The service is called SeeClickFix. You see a problem, you click on it with taking a picture, and we go and fix it. It’s a few service available for your phone. It’ll automatically tag on the map where the problem is and it comes straight from your phone, straight to public works.”

The city of Columbus wants the public to remain patient through this process as they said they are filling up to 15 potholes a day.