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This winter it has been incredibly difficult to commute from place to place because of all the snow and ice. Along with the bad weather, there is now an even bigger problem for the people of Des Moines: potholes. 

Mike Coughlon is a West Des Moines service operation supervisor for street maintenance. He said during this time of year when the weather is constantly warming up and freezing again, potholes form.  

“Potholes are caused by the expansion and contraction of ground water that either goes in the joints (cracks) or underneath the pavement,” Coughlon said. “With the reoccurrence of the water melting and then freezing again, it expands and contracts. The pavement moves, leaving open gaps. With the car traffic going over it every day, it starts to destroy the material, which then creates potholes.” 

Many Grand View students have had to dodge potholes on the way to school.  

Coughlon didn’t have an exact number of reports on potholes, but he said it’s been a busier year than previous years due to the extreme weather conditions of central Iowa. 

Editor’s Note: Viewfinder reporters reached out to the City of Des Moines Public Works Department for comment on potholes near campus. The City did not grant us an interview, so we turned to the Coughlon and West Des Moines for comment on their pothole repair procedures. 

One way that the West Des Moines street maintenance crew has kept up with the problem is by planning out each week. The first priority for the City of West Des Moines Public Works is snow removal, and the second is repairing potholes. 

“When they call in, there is a system that records all requests about the potholes, and depending (on) if we are not fighting snow removal that same day, we try to take care of it right away,” Coughlon said. “Also, the crew members have iPads in their trucks, so they can see the complaints come in right away, then take care of them.” 

Part of the repair process, Coughlon said, involves using cold-mix asphalt. Depending on how serious the pothole damage is, the work frame can be five, 10, or up to 30 minutes per job site. 

“For this particular season, the cold-mix asphalt is hauled by a large truck, and when the crew gets to the job site, a couple of workers get out with shovels, fill the hole(s), and (smash) it in,” Coughlon said. “It’s not a permanent fix like hot-mix asphalt, but (it) will last until it can be fixed correctly.” 

As Coughlon said, once it starts to warm up, the maintenance team can get out of this endless cycle of repairs and permanently repair the roads for a smooth commute and safe travel for the public.