A Harsh Winter… Late Spring and the Problem of Potholes
As the spring melts the snow and ice, it has become increasingly clear that winter has taken a toll on our roads. This has been a challenging winter. The sheer number of storms and severely cold temperatures has resulted in a significant increase in the number of potholes. Although we have refrained from placing materials, other than salt, which have long term implications for harming the roads, the damage is evident.
Since January, we have had two crews, from the Public Works Dept., working on road repairs. Thus far, 150 tons of patch (a mixture of asphalt aggregate bituminous material) has been applied to the roads. Unfortunately, the State remains behind in their work on Sullivan Avenue because of the overwhelming needs. We will be contacting our State Reps to determine if they can influence the State’s priorities for repairing SW State roads. If you encounter any potholes on the South Windsor town roads, you may report them to our Public Works Department via the dashboard on this link
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http://dashboard.southwindsor.org/gis-web/swfv23pub/ or by calling 860-648-6366 and providing that report.
As we continue to repair our roads, the reality is that filling potholes is like placing a Band-Aid on a major wound. In order to have a long term strategy for development and maintenance of our infrastructure, we do need to have a strong preventive strategy. Unfortunately, in the last several years, South Windsor has been the last town in the State with respect to funding the capital projects.
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I am hopeful that this council will be amenable to reallocating funds that fulfill our town’s infrastructure needs, through Capital Projects Budget. However, looking at the amount of work that is needed, I do feel that, in the coming months, we as a community have to discuss our infrastructure and long term mechanisms needed to support for it. Most of our neighboring towns already have infrastructure bonds.
I want to thank our Public Works Department, which continues to work diligently, with no additional staffing. Their number of supervisors remains at the same level as 1967 (when we just had 86 miles of roads as opposed to over 140 miles). Garage staffing is about the same as it was in 1989. Please drive safely and remember that everyone is trying to improve our roads and respond to the conditions.
