MEDIA CONTACT: John Lisle at (202) 671-2004

Since Mayor Adrian Fenty along with the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) launched Potholepalooza on Wednesday, March 11, more than 200 District residents and motorists have participated by reporting potholes online, by phone, by email, and by text message. DDOT has dispatched up to nine crews and three “pothole killer” trucks to make the repairs, and in the first nine days of this month-long campaign they have filled 2,099 potholes across thecity.

“I’m thrilled with the results so far,” said DDOT Acting Director Gabe Klein. “Our crews are working extremely hard and –pardon the pun–covering a lot of ground in a hurry. Best of all, the response from residents has been very positive.”

DDOT’s normal response time for a pothole repair is within 72 hours, but during Potholepalooza crews are working to fill identified potholes within 48 hours.

Reporting a pothole on heavily traveled 14th Street, NW one resident said, “it’s disastrous. If you fill it in 72 hours–I’ll be stunned–but ever-so-grateful.” On the next business day, the work was done and the resident wrote back, “I drove over it today–and it was perfect. Thank you…”

Street and bridge maintenance workers filled 518 potholes on March 16 alone, and they are averaging nearly 300 repairs a day (does not include Saturday and Sunday). Many of the service requests received are for multiple potholes on the same street. Crews are also proactively looking for and filling additional potholes.

To report a pothole, residents and commuters can contact DDOT in a variety of ways: 1) call the Mayor’s Call Center at 311, 2) use the Online Service Request Center at dc.gov, 3) text message or Tweet to twitter.com/DDOTDC, or 4) email to Potholepalooza@dc.gov. Callers must identify the location including the correct quadrant (NW, NE, SE, SW) in the city and as much detail as possible about the hazard, including the approximate size and depth of the pothole.

For daily updates and more information about Potholepalooza, please visit ddot.dc.gov/potholes.