Crews patch roads before next round of snow, ice

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

With the freeze-thaw cycle continuing, road crews who were busy patching potholes Friday likely will be switching back to snow and ice removal this morning, an Ohio Department of Transportation spokesman said.

“This week is the perfect example of the freeze-thaw cycle that causes potholes,” with temperatures below freezing early in the week and rising to the 60s on Thursday, observed Brent Kovacs, an ODOT public information officer.

Subfreezing temperatures prevailed again Friday after flooding from heavy rains closed some area roads Thursday.

Notable among the road closings due to flooding was state Route 46 between Salt Springs Road and McKees Lane in Niles, which reopened Friday morning.

“Freeze-thaw causes the vast majority of potholes,” Kovacs noted. “If we’re not plowing snow, we’re pothole patching,” he added.

ODOT had four trucks filling potholes in Mahoning County and three in Trumbull County on Friday, he said.

ODOT patches potholes on interstate highways and on U.S. and state routes outside of municipalities.

Kristin Barrett, a spokeswoman for the Mahoning County Engineer’s Office, said five county crews were patching potholes Friday, but, if freezing rain develops over the weekend, they would have to switch to ice removal.

The pothole problem is “very severe,” and recent freezing and thawing have left “large and deep” potholes within the roads, she said. “The worst problems lie within the less recently paved roadways throughout the county,” she added.

When the skies opened up with warm rain Thursday, potholes opened up all over Trumbull County.

Greg Alberini, highway superintendent for Trumbull County Engineer Randy Smith, said the department had 31 people out Friday using cold patch to fill the potholes that resulted from the 61-degree temperature coupled with “a month’s worth of rain in less than one day” Thursday.

Alberini said every available person, including himself and two other supervisors, were patching holes. Their goal was to get things in order before the weekend, but it’s likely there will be more repairs to make early next week, Alberini said.

Youngstown Mayor John A. McNally said city street department crews will be working this weekend filling in potholes as long as it doesn’t rain or snow.

“We won’t fill them in when it’s wet because it will get washed away,” he said. “We are well aware the potholes are there and are working to fill them in with cold patch.”

Among the worst areas, he said, are McCollum and Canfield roads, though there are problems all over Youngstown.

“You try to grin and bear it,” McNally said. “There are some major potholes out there. They sprang to life pretty quickly. It’s the nature of Northeast Ohio winters, and we’re having to deal with a large amount of snowfall this winter. It’s a citywide issue as it is across the county.”