With the warm winter weather Chicopee DPW Highway crews have been able to get a jump on the pothole repair season, DPW Superintendent Jeffrey Neece announced today.

The DPW is able to make their own reheated hot mix for potholes by using two hot boxes that essentially heats the mix and maintains the temperature for proper installation at the preferred temperature. By doing this crews do not have to use cold pothole mix material that generally does not last long under winter wet conditions. Using the two boxes crews can produce eight tons of the hot pothole mix.

The material for the mix was purchased in December as local asphalt plants closed for the winter season. It was then stockpiled until needed when it is reheated using one of the hot boxes. Crews can identify problem potholes by resident input or visual inspection which is then added to SeeClickFix, a platform for residents to report non-emergency issues.

The City anticipates that the asphalt plants will be reopening soon and supplying the DPW with hot mix from their plants. Until then, highway crews are able to repair large potholes and get a jump on the repairs by making their own hot mix material.

Residents are encouraged to use SeeClickFix by visiting their website, www.seeclickfix.com, or downloading their smartphone app, SeeClickFix. By clicking “Connect With Your Community”, you can search for “Chicopee” and report an issue or view open, acknowledged, and closed issues. The City of Chicopee – Mayor’s Office Facebook page also contains a link to the platform. All issues are sent to the DPW and are reviewed daily.

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