Q: Chris Savage of Seattle is curious to know when a roughly one-mile stretch of 51st Avenue South, running south from Rainier Avenue South in the Skyway area, is scheduled to be repaved? "The road is in absolutely horrible shape," he said. Besides the many potholes, the roadway, which is a major arterial for commuter traffic, is so degraded "it's like driving on a road covered with circular turtle markers or on a bumpy dirt forest road," says Savage.

But he questions whether it would make much sense to repair it pothole-by-pothole. "The holes would degrade quickly. Since this is such a high-volume roadway and a major school and Metro bus route, it seems it should be a priority re-surface or repair project."

A: Seattle's transportation department agrees that stretch could use a little attention. But Benjamin Hansen, in the department's pavement engineering and management section, says more pressing projects are on the list ahead of that one. "With so many needs, we focus on repairing the busiest streets first," he said.

That project is not even on the list for next year, or the year after, either. In fact, a construction schedule posted on the transportation department's Web site as recently as a couple days ago has it listed for the year 2012.

So until the city gets around to a major resurfacing project, crews will continue to make spot repairs along 51st Avenue South. Anyone who wants to point out specific potholes that need immediate repair can call the transportation department's hotline, 206-684-ROAD (7623), or fill out the street maintenance request form that's online at www.seattle.gov/transportation/potholereport.htm. The department has a schedule of major street repair projects online at www.seattle.gov/transportation/docs/AACPavingPlanList09122007.pdf.