COUNTY NEWS

Los Alamos County Traffic & Streets division staff would like to remind motorists to be on the look out for potholes that are developing in the days following several back to back winter storms. As snow begins to melt off of roadways, the potholes are exposed in the pavement.

“Until the hot mix plant re-opens this Spring, and we see much warmer temperatures return that are needed for the hot mix to be an effective patch, we are going to continue to be in a reactive mode to fix only the worst potholes with a temporary solution,” said Dan Erickson, Traffic and Streets Division Manager.

If tomorrow’s snow forecast falls short in the volume of snow that is expected to be received, alleviating the need for the entire focus to be on snow removal, crews expect to be out patching the worst of the holes on Trinity and Diamond Drive with a bagged patching mix that is a temporary substitute until hot mix is available.

Erickson said the difficulty in making any kind of fix to the potholes is that wet, cold conditions make it difficult for the mix to “stick” to the hole and may not be effective. Shallow potholes are not a good candidate for the mix because it typically will not adhere to shallow surfaces.

Erickson encouraged drivers to be careful and try to avoid potholes, as it may still be several weeks before all of them can be addressed. Work will occur on the busiest thoroughfares and only as a lower priority to snow removal, he said.