Workers address numerous repairs after rough winter

By P.J. GLISSON

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Marenisco - It's that time of year when road workers are out shoveling asphalt into potholes and hoping rain doesn't ruin the short-term fix.

"It never ends," said Jim Manchester, who was working Tuesday with Bill Chiapuzio on a stretch of U.S. 2 between Wakefield and Marenisco.

As members of the Gogebic County Road Commission, the guys said they worked with the Michigan Department of Transportation to fill highway holes.

Chiapuzio said they can go through several tons of asphalt mix on some days.

The two men were working in dry conditions, but Chiapuzio said they sometimes have to patch holes even on wet roads because, if they delay the work, the problem worsens and can result in damage to vehicles.

Manchester said state officials have told them that roads are bad everywhere this year.

Dan Weingarten, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Transportation, said in a Wednesday phone call that the season started on a bad note. "We had a lot of freeze/thaw cycles in November and December," he said.

In addition, he said, "The condition of the state's pavements has been declining for several years."

Limited road funds

Beyond that are financial limitations at every level. "Cities and counties are struggling, just as the state is, to keep up with limited funds," said Weingarten.

The DOT spokesman claimed weather is the biggest issue in creating potholes. "Water is the real culprit here," he said, explaining that it seeps into pavement cracks and freezes, resulting in heaving that traffic then ruptures into holes.

Weingarten said road commissions in all but three of the U.P.'s 15 counties have contracts to maintain "state trunklines" for the DOT in each of their own regions. Only Baraga, Houghton and Mackinac do not have contracts.

According to Weingarten, the state's contract with the Gogebic County Road Commission means that commission workers address maintenance on "any route that has a U.S., M or I label."

Locally, that includes U.S. 2, U.S. 45, M-64, M-38 and M-28, and the contract also calls for the Road Commission to plow snow and cut grass next to those highways.

"We don't have to tell them specifically every action they have to take," said Weingarten of county workers. "They set their schedules for snowplowing, etc. We wouldn't be able to monitor everything."

He added, however, "If we're notified that there are bad potholes in an area, we will direct county road commissions to get out and fix them."

Weingarten said problems with the roads are not the fault of regular traffic. "This is a structural problem," he said.

"We do make efforts to protect the roads by issuing weight restrictions when they're most susceptible to damage," said Weingarten.

As of March 18, weight limits were enforced on designated roads. Related details are listed on the website of the Gogebic County Road Commission. County roads not part of the state trunkline also are listed there.

Repair levels vary

Regarding longevity of roads, Weingarten said people often have misconceptions about how long a repair will last.

"A lot of times, people will see a road project will go through, and the road will look nice and black, and they assume it's a new road," he said.

And yet, in some cases, he added, workers simply "mill off" a thin layer of the original damaged road and then place a layer of fresh pavement over it.

"It might give us an extra five to seven years," said Weingarten regarding the quick fix, whereas a fully reconstructed road can last years longer, depending upon the level of traffic and weather wear.

To report a pothole on a state trunkline, call the DOT hotline at 888-296-4546 or visit http://www.michigan.gov/pothole.

"There's a form that people can use to tell us where the potholes are, and we'll get in touch with the Road Commission," said Weingarten regarding the online option.