Students maneuvered bumpy roads as the physical plant attempted to keep up with the increase in potholes after the recent winter weather.

The recent snowstorm Conway experienced created many new potholes, but the physical plant has worked to address the road damage.

Kevin Carter, associate vice president for facilities, said, “I don’t have a specific count but there are many new potholes across campus. This is very common when temperatures drop as low as they did combined with the snow and ice.”

Physical plant workers aren’t the only ones who have noticed the new parking lot craters; junior Justin Stauffer said, “I’ve noticed several more [potholes] on campus.” 

Freshman Mia Linderman said, “There’s a big [pothole] by Stanley Russ … It’s literally like a pit.” The physical plant put a traffic cone to alert drivers about the hazard until it patched the hole.

Freshman Donta Warren said he hit “multiple [potholes]” after the storms. 

Carter said some potholes were “as deep as 6-8 inches.”

Students have also noticed some potholes being more severe than others. 

Stauffer said, “There’s a really bad one by the College of Business building.” 

Warren said, “By my dorm, Hughes Hall, it’s like a big hole in the middle of the parking lot that I try to avoid.”

The physical plant is hard at work filling and fixing the pothole epidemic.

Carter said, “The physical plant grounds department has already put out over 2 tons of asphalt patch. We are currently working on pricing from a contractor to address more issues this summer.

“The approximate cost of the asphalt patch we’ve used since the storm is $1,500. This is just for small temporary repairs. A campus-wide road and parking lot infrastructure repave would be in the millions. 

“As an example, in May we will be repaving the drive lanes in the parking lot west of Estes Stadium. The cost of this project is $375,000,” he said.

Even though the physical plant is fixing the roads on campus, students have mixed opinions about the efficiency of the physical plant. 

Stauffer said, “I feel like they’re doing a decent job. I have noticed I saw some workers in the New Hall parking lot yesterday.”

Other students had different opinions; freshman Noah Johnson said, “No, they take forever. [The potholes stay for] too long.”

Carter said, “We have not received any specific student complaints that I am aware of. Before the winter weather, I received a complaint from a student about a pothole on Augusta Avenue. This is a city street, so I reported it to the City of Conway Street Department, who fixed it within a few days.”

Potholes on campus can be reported to the physical plant. Off-campus potholes can be reported to the city.