Fresno City Crews are seeing increases in potholes as the rainy season approaches

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — Fresno City crews are seeing an increase in pothole reports as we head into the wet season, and they were working around the clock to get as many of them filled before the next storm hits Saturday.

Tires ride over cracked and crumbled roads as potholes go on Mckinley Avenue. The headache for drivers gets worse in wet weather.

“We just walk around them and I just pray when there’s puddles and it’s raining, I just pray I don’t hit a pothole,” said Diane Bradford, Fresno Resident.

Rain is the road’s worst enemy. When water seeps into the cracks, it weakens the pavement and creates holes. City staff were out a day before the storm, filling as many as they could ahead of the rain.

“Typically the day after a storm we can have upwards of 50 or 100 calls in that area, but a typical weekend with good weather we’ll only have a small handful,” said Scott Moiser, director of public works for the City of Fresno.

The costly work requires many resources. Last year, the city added a crack team that works year-round to locate and fix trouble spots and respond to reports. In October, the city announced $7.4 million dollars to go toward hiring outside contractors to rebuild entire neighborhoods.

“It was a combination of eight different neighborhoods around the city, and luckily it came in over 30% under budget,” says Moiser.

So far, they have already completed two quarters and plan to rest in the spring.

When the rain hits, the hole is in the holes. will quickly switch to storm response.

“You’ll find our City of Fresno maintenance crews out clearing drains and dealing with any downed trees. Very quickly after the storm, they’ll switch back to pothole response,” Moiser says.

If you would like to report a pothole, you can download the Fres-Go app. The app also allows you to see the progress status of the city crews.