The Pothole: A brief history of Atlanta’s most iconic showstopper

4 min readOct 5, 2021

Of all the little quirks that make Atlanta a special place to live, none is more frustrating than the iconic pothole.

This year alone, the Atlanta Department of Transportation has already fixed 966 potholes and resurfaced 1.08 miles of road. Even then, you probably still have at least one annoying crater in the road on your way to work, the grocery store or your favorite weekly trivia spot.

When elections roll around, candidates usually speak about how they will handle citizen concerns more quickly, like filling in potholes, but there are a lot of logistics involved in something as simple as fixing a hole in the road. We’re going to give you a brief history of why potholes are so prolific in Atlanta, what’s been done to fix the issue, and (most importantly) what you can do about it.

What’s the deal with potholes in Atlanta?

Potholes and crumbling roads (hello, DeKalb Ave.) are common in Atlanta for a few reasons. For starters, the city’s population has been steadily increasing, meaning more overall traffic. The suburban areas around the city are also growing, leading to more commuters into and out of Atlanta.

These traffic conditions make road maintenance more necessary, but ultimately, changing political conditions are what makes repairs more difficult. Policymakers frequently talk about wanting to repair roads, but the money for road improvements is in competition with other city budget areas, such as police and fire department funding (the largest parts of the Atlanta city budget).

Even if policymakers commit to prioritizing roads, the importance of other issues can change quickly. A good example is in 2019, when the city repaired over 6,000 potholes in preparation for hosting the Super Bowl at Mercedes Benz Stadium. At the time, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms promised that this was more than an effort to spruce up the city for one night out of the year.

Fast-forward one year to the wildness that was 2020, and the city’s spending priorities shifted drastically during the COVID-19 outbreak. Pothole repairs and other infrastructure renovations were simply seen as less of a concern.

What’s been done to fix our roads?

Back in 2016, Atlanta citizens approved a tax on their ballot called the Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (TSPLOST) to fund several Atlanta transportation projects, including the filling of potholes. TSPLOST raised the city’s sales tax by half a cent for MARTA’s expansion and four-tenths of a cent for transportation projects and has generated $260 million in additional funding for road improvements.

In 2019, the City of Atlanta announced it would be creating a Department of Transportation for the city to have a “one-stop-shop” to combine the construction duties of three different city departments that had previously been in charge of handling road repairs. The city also introduced the Atlanta311 app and website, a service designed to allow people to quickly and easily report potholes and other infrastructure problems (e.g. malfunctioning traffic signals, sidewalk repairs, etc.) to the city online.

The launch of the Atlanta Department of Transportation was closely followed by the 2019 initiative that repaired over 6,000 before the 2019 Super Bowl.

How can I help?

Atlanta and surrounding cities have elections happening on November 2nd. The officials elected to office during these elections will have a big opportunity to impact the quality of our roads.

Leading up to the election, you’ll likely hear candidates talk about how the pothole repair process needs to be streamlined. If this is an issue you care about, it’s important to know where candidates stand on the issue and their plan on solving it.

Our website (www.branch.vote) makes it easy to quickly understand candidates’ positions on potholes, transportation and infrastructure, and other policy areas. Look up who is going to be on your ballot by entering your address at www.branch.vote, and leave your polling place on November 2nd knowing that you helped make the roads a little smoother for you and your neighbors.

Branch is a nonpartisan Georgia startup with a mission to make state and local government more approachable. You can find quality information about your next election by visiting www.branch.vote.

Sources:

The Pothole: A brief history of Atlanta’s most iconic showstopper

What’s the deal with potholes in Atlanta?

What’s been done to fix our roads?

How can I help?

Written by Branch Politics

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