Pothole season is not quite over yet.

The seesaw temperatures of January and February have left DeKalb’s roads in rough shape and there is no predicting when drivers will find relief, said Rick Monas, DeKalb’s director of public works.

“That’s really what precipitates all of this,” Monas said, describing a winter season that began with an ice storm in December. “We’ve had 30 separate snow events; normally there are not that many.”

As salt is put down to melt ice on the roads, brine is created which, in turn, freezes again as temperatures drop.

The frozen water then creates and enlarges fissures in the pavement.
The speed with which a city crew can work also varies, depending on available man power, equipment, traffic flow and weather.

Monas said the workers sent out to do repairs are three-men crews, of which DeKalb has two. Rerouting traffic and the degree of damage to the road make the process and timetable unpredictable, Monas said.

He added that any repairs right now are simple patches and cannot solve the problem entirely.

Some roads are damaged enough to require extensive repairs such as resurfacing. Monas said the intersection of Lincoln Highway and Peace Road is one of those areas.

For the remainder of winter, Monas encourages drivers to take it easy on the road.
“The key here is we’re not out of the dark yet, so please just slow down,” he said.

All comments are moderated before being published. We will not edit your comments, but we also will not approve those that are abusive, off-topic, attack another poster or contain information we know to be libelous or false.

During peak weekday viewing times, most comments will be reviewed within six hours. For more detailed information, click here.

After submitting your comment, check below for a confirmation message.

• Your name:
• Enter text from image:
  

• Your comment:

* 300-character count. HTML formatting will not display.