GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – The continued snow for most of February has been a pain for many who wish to put away the snowblower and shovel for at least a week.
Now it seems snow is even causing headaches when it’s cleared from roads.
Green Bay Public Works is keeping an eye on potholes throughout the city, but say a break from fighting snow is needed before they can do anything.
“We do know about them,” says Green Bay Public Works Director Steve Grenier. “We’re hearing some folks and getting to them as quickly as we can.”
He says it’s not necessarily the snow or deep freeze that can be singularly blamed for the bad spots.
Rather, it’s a combination of moisture and up-and-down temperatures which serve to create potholes.
“Over time that repetition with freezing and thawing, making the void space bigger, it gets warm and a car drives over that void space and now you have a pothole,” he explains.
And as always, some areas get hit worse than others.
“There are some stretches that we know are bad,” says Grenier. “Shawano [Avenue] is one of them, Webster Avenue is another one.”
But are there actually more potholes right now than in the past?
According to the department, it’s a technical answer.
“It may seem like there’s more than normal, because we haven’t been able to fill them as much as we have in prior years,” he says.
Green Bay Public Works is waiting for a few things to change before they can aggressively shift their focus over to pothole repairs.
First, there needs to be an elongated stretch without snow.
That will keep the roads clear and always prevent moisture from hampering the treatment.
Secondly, they need to move staff away from snow plowing and removal and onto road repair.
“The same folks who do the pothole work are the folks who are doing the plowing,” explains Grenier. “So I can’t have the guys doing two things at once.”
For the time being, he says there a few guidelines to follow until significant repairs can be made.
Reducing speed and driving the actual speed limit will make for an easier ride and reduce the chance of automobile damage taking place.
Also, planning ahead to avoid roads that have been hit hard and looking to take alternative routes is advised.
