It's pothole patching time

Spring often is hailed as a time for blooming flowers and cold weather turning to warm. But in some circles, it's known as the season to begin pothole repairs.

Potholes form after the moisture from winter ice and snow seep into the cracks in the pavement, freeze and expand it, causing it to bulge and crack. When cars drive over the weakened pavement, pieces begin to break apart and form a hole.

All of the salt used to keep the roads clear during the winter months also furthers their deterioration, as it has a corrosive effect on concrete and asphalt surfaces.

Cape Girardeau public works director Tim Gramling said the city uses different approaches to repair damaged roads. The most basic type of repair involves patching potholes with an asphalt "cold mix."

But sometimes what crews see when they inspect the roads is more severe than the routine potholes that tend to pop up in the spring.

"We're seeing a lot of streets that are beginning to deteriorate, even beyond having potholes," said Gramling. "One is a real shallow, thin part of the surface coming off in sections. So what we have is a DuraPatcher machine that can go out and address those thinner shallow holes like that."

The process used by the machine is different from the cold mix patching, but isn't the same as resurfacing the road. The DuraPatcher places a mix of small rocks and asphalt on the area and smooths it over. Gramling said this fix is more permanent, and if done correctly, it's

impossible to tell later where the repair took place.

Still other roads are crumbling, he said, and must be sealed off with a layer of asphalt "hot mix."

None of these processes is permanent, but Gramling said they do provide a more long-term repair that gives the city more time to address each area of need.

"So this is going to kind of buy us some time over the next two or three years to where then, we can come back over that time and do a more permanent repair as we can get to them," he said.

The number and severity of potholes seen this year can be chalked up to the harsh winter weather that beleaguered the area. Gramling said in his 18 years with the city, last winter was one of the worst he can remember.

Although the city has experienced bigger storms that brought more snow and ice, this winter was one of the more difficult ones because storms began in early December and didn't let up until March, allowing little recovery time. One of the final winter storms left about 2 inches of snow over the city, piled on top of ice and sleet; nearby areas got as much as 4 inches of snow.

"This was one of the worst winters as far as the freezing, the cold temperatures down to the degree we had for as long as we had it, for the number of times we had to get out and plow -- just the plowing alone can put quite a toll on the streets -- and then we put quite a bit of salt out on the city streets as well and salt does have a corrosive effect ..." said Gramling. "So when you're doing that over and over again and you're also out there plowing it and then you're having the temperatures to get down like they did and stay down for a week or two at a time, it's basically a perfect storm of harshness for streets like that."

But the city of Cape Girardeau isn't alone in its struggle. Cape Girardeau County Highway Administrator Scott Bechtold said crews are going through a similar routine of looking for and repairing potholes across the county. As the seasons shift from winter to spring, a few potholes are expected to crop up, but after experiencing such an atypical winter, he said the county is trying to adjust.

"Of course, we weren't expecting quite that severe winter, but once it came we knew we would have some issues, and some of those certainly are showing up," he said.

Bechtold said crews drive out to inspect the county's 400 miles of roads, searching for potholes and other issues that need to be addressed. They have started patching holes in some streets and grating gravel roads to keep them smooth.

The Missouri Department of Transportation announced last month the launch of its "pothole patrol." The department encourages the public to call or go online to report any potholes they notice on state roads. Stan Johnson, assistant district maintenance engineer for MoDOT's southeast district, said things have gone well with the effort.

"We've got here in the district office on the 800-number probably well over 100 calls on various potholes in various locations," he said. "We're trying to get out and get most of them in 24 hours."

The southeast district covers 25 counties and stretches north from the Arkansas boarder to Ste. Genevieve County, and west toward Texas County. Johnson said asking the public to take part in pothole patrol is one of the best ways to help the department keep track of road issues as they happen.

"There's a lot of roads out there and some [potholes] can develop pretty quick in the right conditions," he said. "So this is just more eyes and ears out there to keep an eye on our roads."

Although the county doesn't have a specific process or system for the public to report potholes, Bechtold said calls still come in from time to time.

"Most of the time, we already know of the issue, but I always tell people, 'Thanks for calling,' because there's a chance that maybe something's happened that we're not aware of because we've been busy on another road and someone hasn't gone over that one yet."

He said there isn't any specific area or type of road that has needed more attention, although some older roads were prime candidates for pothole formations.

In Cape Girardeau, Gramling said the roads that seemed to be most damaged were those built 10 to 20 years ago. Surprisingly, some of the older roads in the city seemed to be holding up, he said.

Gramling said the city hopes to have all the areas deemed "immediate needs" repaired by the end of July or early August.

Bechtold said the timeline for getting the county repairs completed ultimately depends on weather.

"It's going to take time to get there," he said. "But the break in the weather has been a positive in that we can begin a day and work all day most of the time. ... It does allow us to work more consistently with the machinery and the people we have to make progress on that repair."

Potholes and other nuisances may be reported to the city at cityofcapegirardeau.org/report.

To report a pothole to MoDOT, visit modot.org/southeast/ and click "Report a Road Concern" on the right side of the page, or call 1-888-275-6636.

srinehart@semissourian.com

388-3641

Pertinent address:

Cape Girardeau, Mo.