Potholes pile up after snow removal

After the recent assault of winter storms, the Rowan campus and Glassboro have been struggling to keep up with the demand of filling potholes on the roads.

The past three snowstorms have dumped over three feet of snow throughout the month of February. According to the Glassboro highway department, over 100 potholes have been filled over the past few storms, with more filling on the schedule.

This winter, Glassboro has used 11,000 tons of salt on campus and residential roads. Salt and plowing, along with the freezing and thawing of existing potholes, can cause severe damage to the road.

The highway department has received 10 calls over the past few snowstorms regarding the issue of potholes.

Students on Rowan’s campus are still concerned with the pothole problem.

“There are still plenty of potholes, most of them filled with water,” said Jakub Paluch, a junior accounting major. “I saw a girl get splashed by a huge wave from a truck driving through one.”

The highway department still has a tough job ahead of them. According to officials, with over $62,000 worth of salt on the roads, potholes will continue to creep up as the weather gets warmer through March.

Potholes can cause damage to both tires and suspension systems in automobiles. Their generally-sharp edges can puncture tires and steep drops from falling into one can turn a simple hole into a problem causing thousands of dollars in damage.

Pedestrians falling into them can twist ankles, scrape knees or even break bones.

“Dangers are posed depend upon the size of the pothole,” said Russell Clark, highway department superintendent for Glassboro. “I have not been notified of any accidents due to potholes. None of them I’ve seen are that deep.”

The school’s parking lots have fared much better than the outside roads. Only few potholes have been spotted with standing water in them.

“There’s a couple in the parking lot here,” said Kevin Feller, a junior physics major. “They really aren’t that big, maybe a just a few inches deep. [It's] nothing that anyone should worry about.”

Glassboro is working hard to repair the damage caused by the recent snowstorms and fill requests by town residents.

“We are pretty fast at responding to complaints,” Clark said. “We also have an aggressive repaving program to stop problems before they occur.”

To report a pothole in your neighborhood, please contact Glassboro’s highway department at 856-881-8422.