Photo by Josh Jambor A large pothole on Johnson Street in Alpena is among the many local roads in Alpena that need repairs. Most repairs cannot be completed until the weather warms up.

ALPENA – Pothole season is officially upon motorists in Northern Michigan. In Alpena, there are several roads that either need to be repaired, patched, or resurfaced due to large pits in the road that are more than a few inches deep.

City of Alpena Engineer, Steve Shultz said the city tracks damage to local roads and then determines what roads get the necessary repairs.

“We take notes of any potholes we find,” Shultz said. “Generally, the winter season does not damage anything from scratch, it typically does more damage to existing potholes.”

Ryan Brege, managing director of the Alpena County Road Commission, said he will know more about road conditions and what work needs to be done in a month or so.

“Work on local roads will be determined in the springtime after meeting with individual township supervisors to assess road conditions and discuss options,” Brege said.

Because we are still in the winter season, repair options are limited, Shultz said.

“During the winter we do some cold patching and fill in some of the potholes,” Shultz said. “For the most part, unless it’s a bigger sized pothole, it does not stick.”

Until the weather warms up local crews are limited in maintenance options. As an example, to fix the cracks in the road, the temperature should be at least 40 degrees for the material to work properly. Temperatures in Northeast Michigan haven’t come close to that for weeks.

“It needs to be warm in order for it to mold and stick to the pothole effectively,” Shultz explained.

Some road repairs are outsourced to a contractor hired by the City of Alpena.

“Potholes don’t create entire road projects, but for certain areas of town we have a contractor that will go around and do small patches or a hot patch,” Shultz said.

Shultz stated that although the city has received some complaints no specific area has been mentioned more than others.

“It’s a mixed bag of complaints here and there for things like a pothole outside of someone’s house,” Shultz said. “I think people also understand that we can’t fix some of these things until it warms up.”

Potholes are more likely this time of year because of temperature fluctuations, also known as a ‘freeze-thaw cycle The freeze thaw cycle occurs when air temperature drops below 32 degrees fahrenheit, then increases enough for it to thaw again. The expanding and contraction of moisture in crevices of the streets lead to damage. Roads with heavy traffic and those that allow semi-truck traffic also are more prone to potholes.