Total Maintenance road repair company wanted to demonstrate its newest pothole-filling technology for Clarkston.
Bob Pursley, director of Clarkston Department of Public Works, had just the spot for it.
‘Right in front of the (DPW) building,? he said. ‘We’re looking for a better way to patch potholes ? we’ll watch it and see how it holds up.?
Workers with Total Maintenance filled in gouges on the side of downtown Main Street at Church Street, April 10.
‘I want to show what this machine does,? said George Tanner, sales representative for Total Maintenance of Swartz Creek.
The Pothole Doctor spray patcher combines emulsified asphalt with gravel aggregate on site ? the hose operator directs an alternating stream of asphalt and aggregate.
‘Cold patch comes up right away and hot patch can’t be done until later,? Tanner said. ‘This is a more permanent repair. It lasts a couple years.?
It costs more per application, but costs less over the long run because it lasts longer, he said.
‘We want people to know about this,? he said.
Road Commission for Oakland County officials observed the demonstration, but response was cool.
‘At this point, we don’t believe it would be cost effective to hire this company to patch potholes for us,? said Craig Bryson, public information officer. ‘That is one of our main functions year-round. I doubt any private company has the equipment or man power to be able to patch on the scale that we do.?
The equipment is not practical for Oakland County, Bryson said.
‘They recommend not allowing traffic to drive on the patch for several hours after it is applied. This would not go over well with drivers,? he said.
The machine also takes longer to patch potholes than the county’s hot-patch method, Bryson said.
‘Because of the sheer volume of potholes we patch, times is always a consideration,? he said. ‘Finally, even if this technology was ideal, in our current economic situation, we have no money to buy new specialized equipment. We can’t even afford to replace our current aging trucks, which are used for both pothole patching and plowing/salting as well as many other tasks throughout the year.?