DeKalb starts pothole-filling spree

DeKalb employees plan to fill potholes across the county during a spring road repair effort.

DeKalb employees plan to fill potholes across the county during a spring road repair effort.

DeKalb County is launching its annual pothole patching project, with workers planning to repair thousands of bumpy streets.

Interim DeKalb CEO Lee May kicked off the "pothole palooza" Monday by spreading asphalt over a pothole on Kensington Road near Decatur. DeKalb filled nearly 4,500 potholes during a similar effort last year.

Repairing potholes is a temporary fix, and May has said the county needs funding for the more long-term effort of resurfacing 417 miles of worn-down roads.

DeKalb voters will decide in November whether to approve a 1 percent special purpose local option sales tax (SPLOST) that could provide money for road repaving and other infrastructure projects.

Residents can call 404-297-3813 to request pothole repairs. The county will check messages left on the hotline several times a day.