I think most of us have been affected by a water main break this year, there’s been one on my street and numerous breaks in Ward 8 and throughout the City. According to Akron’s Director of Public Service, Chris Ludle, we’re on track for a record 500 breaks in 2026. This is partially due to the extreme cold and high heat, but please remember Akron’s water system is over 100 years old in some areas of the city, old pipes and valves fail and there’s really no way to predict when a line will break.
While the water department handles most of the original main repairs and fills the holes, their temporary patches tend to sink as the ground settles over a few weeks, making our roads dangerous. Akron’s Highway Maintenance Team has been tasked with the permanent repairs, but they’re behind due to regular work they perform during the summer. In the meantime we’re left with these bone rattling potholes that we throw more asphalt on as a bandaid until they’re fixed properly.
The good news is that’s about to change, as we’ve approved an outside contractor to begin these permanent street repairs and it will start soon! The work will begin on main arterial streets like W. Market and Exchange, then into our residential streets. I know I drive the left lane going west on Market from Twin Oaks to Hawkins as there are two failing patches, one by St. Paul’s and another in front of Hardesty Park. You’ll notice white dotted lines on pavement of both now ( and on W Exchange St) showing what will be cut out and replaced. I’m looking forward to all of these repairs and hopefully we’ll be cleared up before winter.