KIRKSVILLE, MO --
Potholes galore can be found all over town thanks to the Blizzard of 2011.
It’s the third year in a row with higher than average snowfall, which hasn't been kind to the streets of Kirksville.
The city engineer says all the melted snow has soaked into the base of the concrete streets, leaving it saturated and soft, which leads to other problems.
“It's going to be a higher than average spring for potholes. We've actually started doing repair on potholes. Actually almost as soon as the early February snow melted, we started doing patching,” said John Buckwalter, Director of Public Works.
The city has rented a hot box to make pothole repairs in February and March. It allows them to use hot asphalt materials, which should make the repairs last longer.
But Buckwalter says every snowfall puts a damper on the repair process. And there's no extra money lying around to remedy the problem created by the snowfall.
“We're devoting almost all of the money from the transportation sales tax program this summer to street repair overlays, trying to address some of the worst areas with the transportation sales tax money, we'll continue to work with the street department, doing pothole repair,” Buckwalter said.
Buckwalter says those repairs costs could postpone previously scheduled summer projects.
The recent batch of snow has slowed the process down, but Buckwalter says street crews are doing their best to catch up.