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The city of Cleveland this week will deploy additional forces to deal with menacing potholes like these on West 54th Street and Forestwood Drive.

(Brian Byrne, Northeast Ohio Media Group)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cleveland residents and commuters will experience a little extra relief from menacing, pothole-riddled streets when the first of three so-called “Pothole Killers” are deployed on Tuesday.

According to a Cleveland news release, the city will tap into its capital improvement budget to pay Patch Management, Inc., $225 an hour for as many as 1,100 hours of pothole repair time. The commitment is in keeping with Mayor Frank Jackson’s pledge during his State of the City remarks last week that he would address the city’s ever-worsening pothole plague expeditiously.

The first Pothole Killer unit will begin work at the intersection of Clark and Lorain avenues and move east along Clark toward Quigley Road, the release states. A street evaluation identified the streets in the worst condition and in greatest need of service from curb to curb.

The “Pothole Killer” is a truck-mounted, spray-injection system that is operated by one worker. The spray-injected, asphaltic emulsion material works in below-freezing temperatures and can withstand excess moisture, the release states.

A Cleveland streets department crew will follow the truck to compact the material and sweep streets if necessary. City inspectors then will follow up to ensure quality control.

The first Pothole Killer unit will work from 7 a.m. to midnight, five days a week. Within 10 days, three units will be deployed, working until 5 p.m., five days a week. Meanwhile, the streets department will continue to dispatch six to eight repair crews per day.

“This winter season has been particularly hard on Cleveland streets and motorists due to the high amounts of snowfall and persistent freeze-thaw cycles,” Public Works Director Michael Cox said in the release. “Supplementing the Division of Street’s repair crews will allow us to service more potholes throughout the City and repair them at a quicker rate.”

Cox will be at the intersection of Clark and Lorain avenues at 8 a.m., Tuesday to answer media questions on the Pothole Killer plan.