ASK MR. SUN:

Why aren’t bad road repairs being fixed?

Tuesday, March 31, 2009 | 2 a.m.

Ask Mr. Sun

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Mr. Sun,

I understand that ditches dug across our streets must be seamlessly repaired or the contractor could be fined. What then is the excuse for some of the tire-bruising teeth-rattlers at major intersections — Eastern at Bonanza and Paradise at Convention Center, for example?

—Don Schmiedel

•••

The excuse is this: Once you let someone — a utility, a contractor, a guy who got a pavement saw for his birthday — cut into a road, it will never be the same. When it’s patched there will inevitably be either too little asphalt used, giving motorists crossing it the sensation that they’ve had a head-on collision with the road, or too much, leaving a mini-speed bump.

That said, there is no shortage of reasons for contractors and utilities to cut pavement — a pipe leak, a new development needing to connect to utilities under the street.

Unless it’s an emergency, the people doing the cutting must get a permit from the corresponding public works department. Once they finish and the street is repaired, city inspectors check the work. If it’s not up to standards, the contractor or utility can fix it or face a fine.

On larger projects, Las Vegas performs inspections up to a year after the patch is in place to make sure it continues to meet city standards.

This process is to ensure that the road is returned to the motoring public in good condition, but obviously that’s not always the case.

Questions for Mr. Sun should be sent to page8@lasvegassun.com.