That means the Anoka County Transportation Department’s “pothole patrol” springs into action and begins patching up North Metro roads.
Recently there was a crew working on a busy stretch of highway in Blaine.
“What we are doing here is we are repairing some potholes and some deep crevices in the right turn lane at 109th and Radisson,” said Jim Plemon who is with the Anoka County Transportation Department.
Potholes are annoying, potentially damaging and a nuisance on North Metro roads.
Said Plemon: “It is very important to get these done.”
Freeze-thaw cycle
The weather whiplash that the Twin Cities experiences causes potholes.
“Where these problems happen is when we have freeze-thaw areas where the moisture actually gets down in the cracks of the road of the asphalt surface,” Plemon said. “Then with that freeze and thaw process it actually expands under there which creates a pothole.”
Bryan Rhode and the pothole patrol were out patching up roads last week in Blaine.
Rhode and his crew-mates took mix from a county truck and then smoothed out cracks, crevices and potholes on the road. Over the decades Rhode has seen huge potholes that have caused blowouts on car tires.
“There’s been potholes that have taken a couple wheelbarrows full of the mix over the years,” Rhode said…”We’ve had some in the county that were three or four feet across and eight inches deep.”
“Give them a brake”
Construction workers are definitely at risk when they are smoothing out North Metro streets. It’s crucial to give them a brake and slow down.
“Our guys, they’re fully dressed in hi-vis,” Plemon said. “We’ve got a crash truck behind them with an arrow board pointing over for the traffic to merge over to the left side just for the protection of our operators.”
Rhode wants drivers to remember that crews have families and want to make it home safe every day, and that patching potholes means there will be delays.
“It’s there,” Rhode said. “We gotta fix them but we also have to disrupt traffic to do it.”
Road crews need to stay focused on their surroundings.
“We are always watching for traffic,” Rhode said. “Unfortunately people really don’t watch for us. They want to get to work. We’re in their way.”
If Anoka County residents see any problems on the roads, they can go to the county website to report their concerns. Just click on highway department, then the additional items tab.
