Could Atlanta’s famed ‘Pothole Posse’ be poised for a comeback?

Many streets in Midtown and beyond are pocked with potholes and metal plates, evidence of myriad construction projects that require excavations, new utilities, and heavy trucks all wreaking havoc on the pavement.

The scars are at best a headache—and at worst a safety hazard.

Now, one Atlanta City Councilmember, Marci Collier Overstreet, is hoping to bring the issue to a head.

According to the Saporta Report, Overstreet notes that concerns about metal plates have grown across the city’s more than 1,400 miles of roads.

Prompted by an Atlanta Department of Public Works presentation, which pointed out 99 current locations with metal plates in the city, Overstreet called on the department to put more resources toward fixing roads, pronto.

Public Works Commissioner William Johnson said efforts to address road conditions citywide would be “quadrupled,” with more emphasis placed on the quality of patches, per the website’s report.

Ultimately, many of the city’s worst roads are slated for complete resurfacing.

But once potholes are reported to the city, it’s Johnson’s goal that they can be addressed within five days.

While the response isn’t quite as drastic as Mayor Shirley Franklin’s famous “Pothole Posse”—formed back in the early 2000s to address the city’s decaying roads, with promises to fill potholes within 72 hours—a call to action is certainly welcome.

Time will tell if Mayor Keisha Lance-Bottoms takes an interest in asphalt advocacy.

• Atlanta’s potholes: Repair crews added while some consider new ‘pothole posse’ [Saporta Report]