Schenectady tests new fix for potholes

The city of Schenectady is testing a new material to fill potholes that is expected to last years rather than weeks.

Unique Paving Materials Corp. of Cleveland filled a couple potholes on Maxon Road Extension on Wednesday morning for city officials to compare how the material holds up to traditional cold patch.

City Engineer Chris Wallin said the UPM Permanent Pavement Repair Material cold mix is more expensive, but the vendor claims it would last between five and 10 years.

“Where traditional cold patch costs $90 a ton, this material costs about $125,” Wallin said. “It’s more money, but it would save us money in the long-term.”

In 60 days, Wallin plans to return to Maxon Road Extension and compare how UPM-filled potholes hold up to those previously filled with cold patch and others fixed with a machine called the Crafco Patcher.

Wallin said if the city opts to purchase the UPM mix, it would be used on streets where the cold patch typically doesn’t last — like Erie Boulevard and Union Street, which are main roads with higher traffic volumes.

“This is really a premium product that we can use quickly with our existing equipment, infrastructure and personnel,” he said. “You just brush it out, put it in and compact it.”

Tony Guizzotti, account executive for UPM, said the material could be used to fill potholes in any season and even seals potholes that are wet.

To put the mix to the test, Guizzotti filled one pothole by the railroad tracks on Maxon Road Extension with water before adding the UPM mix. The material still sealed the pothole, without bubbling or cracking.

“This material is so strong, it will last years,” he said. “You will actually start seeing the asphalt around the pothole start to deteriorate before the pothole.”

UPM mix is being used in Ohio, Rochester and Syracuse, Guizzotti said.

“A lot of times we will have national vendors and we hesitate with those products,” Wallin said. “Since this has been out there and used in similar winter climates, we thought it would be a good product to try.”

City employees have been working overtime — literally — to fill potholes after the harsh winter. Wallin said workers have put down more than 400 tons of asphalt in the past month.

“They are working a couple of weekend shifts to keep up,” he said. “They’re working in the neighborhoods more now to address secondary streets with potholes there.”

The city also started paving a week ago in the Bellevue neighborhood, Wallin said. So far Broadway, Cherry Street and Turner Avenue, along with a couple of other streets, have been addressed with mill and pave.

“It has been going better than expected,” Wallin said. “The neighborhood approach seems to be working, eliminating impacts on the neighborhood.”

Wallin said the city also paved some streets that garnered the most complaints from residents, like Edison and Brandywine avenues.

By the end of the month and into June, the city will be moving to pave Albany and Watt streets along with some areas of Woodlawn, around Central Park, and a couple of streets in the Northside.

“We have had very good weather for paving,” Wallin said. “The project is going well and we’re right on target.”

The city is aiming to pave more than 10 miles of streets this year as part of the paving program.

Categories: News