Our Opinion

The sun has finally come out, and its rays of light have burned the snow away. Unfortunately that means the potholes have come out as well.

Any driver recently traveling 13th Avenue, 10th Avenue, Illinois Street and many other arterial avenues in town is well aware that if you’re not paying attention, the loud thud of tire falling into pothole will be heard.

Many driver’s first reactions are to curse the city for not taking better care of its streets. What they may not realize is that help is on the way, and help is contingent on the mood of Mother Nature.

Speaking with Sidney’s Public Service Director John Hehnke, we learned that city crews were out Tuesday to complete some patch work on the intersection of Newton Street and 13th Avenue – an intersection stricken with multiple potholes of varying sizes that required traffic to alter its direction of travel slightly.

The crews were attending to the matter as fast as they could. In order to do the job properly, the street department had to wait until the moisture was drawn from the holes. Otherwise, the patchwork may not hold, which would lead to more problems in the future.

So just as the street crew must have patience in attending to the mess, Sidney drivers must have patience with its city officials who are actively working on the problem.

According to Hehnke, during the budget sessions last year prior to the setting of the City of Sidney’s fiscal year budget, the street department took its best educated guess at how much asphaltic material it would need when winter was through.

The potholes were a forecasted problem, although neither city officials nor crew member could predict exactly where the trouble spots would pop up. Hehnke said it appears that Sidney’s already-worn streets would be hit hard with potholes this year, as so many problems have already turned up, but the freeze-thaw cycle is just getting started.

When moisture gets into the asphalt above the street’s base, it freezes overnight and thaws during the day. This cycle creates a bubble that heaves the asphalt up, and vehicles traveling over that bubble tear up the asphalt and before you know it – pothole. There are various factors in what leads to the size of a pothole, including traffic, the amount of moisture freezing and thawing, and the amount of wear on the asphalt.

Hehnke said winter will bring out potholes even on the good streets. Aside from the new streets recently constructed, he said nearly every street in Sidney has at least one pothole.

Illinois Street is another street experiencing pothole problems. Hehnke said the state is waiting to do an overlay on the highway, which would force the city into overlaying the portion that runs through city limits.

Fort Sidney Road is another area where potholes are “popping,” he said.
What can you do to help?

For starters, drivers can pay close attention to the road and do their best to avoid potholes. We saw traffic patterns at 13th Avenue and Newton Street change prior to the patching so that vehicles wouldn’t further tear up the street (or so the street wouldn’t further tear up the vehicles). By avoiding potholes, drivers help by not contributing to the growth of the pothole.

Report potholes – especially large ones – to city officials. They may already know of it, but there are over 200 lane miles in Sidney for the street department to take care of. It’s a large job for anyone to tackle.

Until the freeze/thaw time of year passes, drivers can expect more potholes to form, but they can also expect to see the street department hard at work patching what they can as soon as they can.