Thanks to the tireless work of city construction crews, driving in Long Beach is now a much more pleasant experience.

“We fill 5,000 potholes a month,” said Eric Lopez, director of the public works department. “Our goal is to fill 10,000 potholes and then continue to get to zero.”

Six crews are working six days a week to tackle the pothole problem, repairing 28,000 of the 63,000 potholes, which Lopez said were mostly caused by last winter’s unprecedented rains.

“I love rain, but I hate potholes. And unfortunately, rain causes potholes,” Lopez said.

Lopez told the city council that last winter, 580 millimeters of rain pounded the streets and historic flooding left cars submerged and huge trees uprooted.

At the height of the storms, 100 city employees were busy cleaning gutters and clearing debris.

Workers have also filled cracks or sealed more than 15 million square feet of pavement and will now tackle another 30,000 square feet of sidewalks, curbs and gutters as part of the city’s Elevate 28 project to get the infrastructure in top shape in time for the Olympics.

“It’s obviously great because it makes the neighborhood more beautiful,” said Brandon Castagna, who was enjoying an afternoon stroll with Lizbeth Garcia Nunez along her newly paved street in North Long Beach.

“The streets are very nice at the moment,” says Garcia Nunez.

The couple said it was a 180-degree change from the condition of the roads in recent years.

“It looked a little off the road, but in the middle of the street. It would be nice, and then all of a sudden a few feet away bup bup bup,” said Castagna, who hopes it will have a trickle-down effect on homes. “A lot of people take pride in their homes. This is what they work for. This is where they raise their family. Small changes like this right on your doorstep actually find their way to your doorstep.”