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Pothole problems popping up again

Jordan Beck | Daily Press Escanaba Department of Public Works employees Adam Fix, right, and Tim Hoffmeyer patch a pothole near the Delta-Schoolcraft Intermediate School District building on 3rd Avenue South and South 26th Street in Escanaba Monday. Escanaba City Engineer and Director of Public Works Bill Farrell said inconsistent temperatures seen in the area recently have made the pothole situation worse.

ESCANABA — Spring may not have officially sprung just yet, but local road departments are already hard at work patching potholes.

Jody Norman, director of the Delta County Road Commission (DCRC), said this winter has been a somewhat difficult one for the commission. As of two weeks ago, the DCRC had spent about $850,000 on snow removal out of its $2.2 million budget.

“It’s a little worse than average,” Norman said.

In contrast, Escanaba City Engineer and Director of Public Works Bill Farrell said the winter of 2016-17 has been on the easy side for his department.

“We had a light to normal winter,” he said.

While roads in Delta County were beginning to thaw a few weeks ago, Norman said things have changed since then.

“Everything’s frozen solid right now with this recent cold snap,” he said.

Because of these conditions, Norman said the DCRC is easing up on some of its spring road weight restrictions for the time being.

“We’re permitting legal loads on roads on a case-by-case basis right now,” he said. These permits will last until noon Wednesday.

According to Farrell, this switch from warm to cold weather has had a negative effect on local roads.

“It’s the worst thing that can happen for potholes,” he said.

So far, Farrell said there have been a normal amount of potholes in the area this year.

“It’s not an epidemic yet,” he said.

Depending on how consistent temperatures are over the next few weeks locally, this may or may not continue to be the case in the long run.

While potholes are at their worst right after the spring thaw, Farrell said the problem does not end when spring does.

“It’s an all-year-long process,” he said.

The DCRC will be doing more substantial road work later in the year.

“We won’t start our spring work until the road restrictions come off,” Norman said. This year, the DCRC plans to pulverize and pave roads in the townships of Ford River and Wells.

Farrell said his department will also be taking on larger projects in 2017.

“We have two chip seal projects we’re going to do as soon as the weather turns and stays warm,” he said. These projects will take place on 20th Avenue South from Lake Shore Drive to 750 feet west of that road and South 22nd Street from 18th Avenue South to 475 feet south of that avenue.

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