Pothole City, La Crosse’s new nickname for an old problem

Mayor Kabat all too aware of the deepening
and widening problem on the streets.

An early thaw has created street caverns that typically emerge later in the spring on city streets in La Crosse.

No one’s immune from bone-jarring journeys over potholes right now. Not even the mayor.  

La Crosse Mayor Tim Kabat says he’s pretty well versed on the extent of the city’s pothole problems – from complaints he gets to his own driving around the city. 

“It’s a challenge,” Kabat said Monday afternoon from the WIZM studio Watch the entire interview here. “There’s no excuses. We need to get after it and do better. 

“We’re going to try and address as many as those as we can.”

WIZM is running a pothole photo contest. Submit your pothole pics here and let us know where they’re at in the city. The randomly drawn winner will get a $50 Piggy’s gift card.

Some streets are really bad, like the heavily traveled La Crosse St. – a state highway, Kabat reminds us – that is in heavy need of a long-term repair.

“When the condition of the street gets to that point, it requires a major project from our partners with the (Wisconsin) DOT, much like Lang Dr.,” Kabat said from the WIZM studio Monday afternoon.

Kabat added that an accelerated street replacement process that’s funded to begin in the city this year should cut down on the number of future potholes.

Temporary patching that crews do now will bandage the bad spots, Kabat added, but longer terms rebuilding will have to be done on the worst streets in the future.  

To that end, the city plans to repair twice the normal miles of city streets this year; about eight miles overall.  

The city website has a page devoted entirely how potholes are formed and what to do if you see them.

That part reads: “If you notice a persistent pothole, please call the location into the Street Department at 608-789-7340. Do not hesitate to report a pothole more than once, since they can open up again quickly after being filled due to the repeated traffic over the hole, snow melt runoff, and changing temperatures.”