A hole new problem for road warriors

As if road crews weren't busy enough clearing off snow and ice from one storm after another this winter, now they have problems that go below the surface.

The winter weather and chemicals used to remove ice and snow have taken a toll on the area's highways and streets. Potholes are forming more quickly than crews can repair them.

"Yeah, we've had a lot pop up," said Stan Johnson, area engineer for the Missouri Department of Transportation. "They're just coming out all over."

State and local road crews were busy Thursday repairing hundreds of potholes that have been created by the constant freezing-and-thawing weather of the last few months. Johnson said "about everybody we've got" was assigned to fixing potholes on Thursday.

Local municipalities were busy as well.

"We know people are frustrated," said Cape Girardeau public works director Doug Leslie. "We hit the same holes they do, so we want to fix them as soon as we can."

Jackson street superintendent Stephen Hendrix said the city got a lot of patching done last week between the snows, and about half of the available workers were patching streets Thursday.

In Jackson and Cape Girardeau, the biggest problems were on roads that MoDOT maintains. A few big holes could be seen on East Jackson Boulevard in Jackson and Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau.

Trouble spots

Driver John Cauble of Cape Girardeau said a long crack in the left turn lane on Kingshighway near Hopper Road gives him trouble.

"It's awful dangerous for motorcycles," he said. "The potholes are getting ridiculous. You've got to dodge them."

Inge Charek of Cape Girardeau said he saw crews on North Kingshighway fixing a "big one."

"It goes with the weather," he said.

Leslie said city crews have been particularly busy on Mount Auburn, Perryville, Broadway and Independence.

The city is looking to contract out work for repairs on some of the concrete streets.

"It certainly takes more time and equipment to repair concrete streets, and we don't have the personnel available to make the repairs that need to be made," Leslie said. "That will supplement our efforts, and more areas will be patched more quickly, which is the objective now."

In Jackson, Hendrix said workers are concentrating mostly on roads that have been annexed into the city and were not part of the city's asphalt program -- North Farmington and Bainbridge as examples. Some of the city's oldest streets tend to break up first also, he said.

Jackson workers are also busy smoothing out gravel roads.

Hendrix added that Jackson's roads aren't subject to a lot of chemical exposure, which also causes deterioration. Jackson uses cinders and crushed rock to melt ice and snow instead of salt or other chemicals.

Repeat performances

Road and highway workers are trying to sandwich in repair work between the latest storm, which produced a significant amount of ice Sunday and Monday, and another possible winter storm coming this weekend.

The repetitive nature of this winter's storms have compounded the problem. The winter weather, specifically the refreezing of water that seeps into the road's cracks and seams, cause the potholes. But the weather also prevents workers from fixing them.

Leslie said the mix used to patch the holes does not require a warm temperature, but it cannot be applied in wet weather. He said the mix can only be poured into a dry hole or it won't adhere.

Mike Jobe, manager at Plaza Tire, said he hasn't seen a noticeable increase in tire repairs due to the weather.

He has noticed, however, an increase in the number of people who drive cars with custom tires and wheels. Such wheels are more likely to be damaged by potholes, he said, because the tires are not as thick and absorb less shock. They're more expensive to fix too.

He said the parking-lot entrance to the Town Plaza shopping area from William was particularly bad early this month. One hole filled with water and was much deeper than it appeared, he said.

"Car after car after car would hit that thing and boom, boom, boom, they were blowing out," Jobe said.

bmiller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127