Thunderstorms, some heavy during the morning hours, then skies turning partly cloudy during the afternoon. High around 85F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected..
Tonight
A few clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 68F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph.
Darren Williams of the Manhattan Street department applies some heat to patch potholes Feb. 13 on Anderson Avenue. The crew is using a cold asphalt mix that allows them to quickly fill potholes while it is still cold outside. According to a post on the City of Manhattan's Facebook page, crews patched 2,502 potholes this January. In January of 2018, only had to patch 92 potholes.
Darren Williams of the Manhattan Street department applies some heat to patch potholes Feb. 13 on Anderson Avenue. The crew is using a cold asphalt mix that allows them to quickly fill potholes while it is still cold outside. According to a post on the City of Manhattan's Facebook page, crews patched 2,502 potholes this January. In January of 2018, only had to patch 92 potholes.
Q: Why does Manhattan have so many potholes this year?
A: The short answer? It’s been a really cold and wet winter.
Those conditions are perfect for water to freeze underneath the pavement, which causes expansion. When it warms up again, the ground contracts. When you have a constant ebb and flow of the two conditions, it means there will be some bumpy roads ahead.
According to the city of Manhattan’s Facebook page, street crews patched just over 2,500 potholes in January compared to 94 in January 2018.
Rain, ice and snow also have made immediate repairs difficult, and patches being done are temporary.
“The problem with this time of year is we patch the holes with cold mix (asphalt pavement), and cold mix is basically a temporary patch until we can do something permanent,” street superintendent Jeff Davis said. “With each one of these storms, we put that cold mix in, and then we have to go out and treat and plow the streets.
“A lot of those patches pop out then. We’re right back there patching a lot of the same potholes after a winter storm.”
Once the weather improves, crews can work on more lasting fixes, which involve thawing and cleaning out the potholes and filling them with hot mix asphalt pavement.
Davis said Tuesday morning there are still crews out patching potholes, getting ahead of the Tuesday storm passing through later in the evening.
People can notify the city about potholes through the ReportIt app. Davis said the app allows the city to respond to users and let them know when an area is repaired.
To submit a question, send by email to questions@themercury.com, or by regular mail to Questions, P.O. Box 787 Manhattan, KS 66505.
