The weather has been warming over the last few days, and crews at the Starke County Highway Department have transitioned to their springtime activity of filling potholes.
Workers were out on Friday using what’s called a warm mix to fill imperfections in the roadway. In addition to potholes, wash-outs – or a pothole on the edge of a roadway – have also been cropping up.
Highway Department Superintendent Rik Ritzler says this year has been an easy transition.
“It’s kind of gradual. A week or two,” says Ritzler. “The snow kind of slowed down on us and we were still doing it, but we were able to slowly transition into potholing. Some years, it’s kind of: bam, right away. But this year, we had a little time to transition so it’s been pretty good.”
The Starke County Highway Department says it plans to be filling potholes for the next couple of weeks.
Additional potholes may become more present as the weather continues to warm.
Starke County does not apply salt to roadways in winter as liberally as the state or other agencies – which can help prevent potholes. Ritzler says they’ve been asking residents to alert them when potholes are present.
“We have been getting some complaints, but not too bad,” says Ritzler. “For the most part people are, you know, thankful that we respond pretty quickly to them and it hasn’t been that bad.”
The Highway Department says that because water from the snowmelt has not entirely evaporated, there can be potholes present that could present dangers to motorists.
If residents locate a pothole, they’re asked to call the highway department for repairs.
