Lincoln working to fix potholes, but wet weather is slowing repair crews

Potholes may be the biggest nemesis to a car. Lincoln’s relentless winter has torn up the roads, leaving thousands of potholes, making for a bumpy commute.

Now that the weather has warmed up, the city is working to repair those potholes as quickly as possible, but rainy weather has made that a challenge.

“In order to keep on top of those potholes we’ve had to revert back to some of our techniques we do over the wintertime,” said Ben Glantz of Lincoln Transportation & Utilities.

That wintertime repair technique is using a cold mixture of asphalt. While cold mixtures work well, they’re not as strong as their favored hot counterpart.

What’s the difference?

“A cold mix is a material, an aggregate, with a little bit rubber in it with other types of tar,” said Glantz. “It doesn’t get super hard but it bonds to about any surface, but it’s a short–term bond. It’s not a long–lasting repair; it’s just a temporary repair.”

Cold asphalt mixtures are prepared at temperatures around 100 degrees.

“Now we’re going back and cutting those areas and filling them with the preferred method with hot mix, as well as emulsions like a glue that bond to the surface of the road. With that hot mix you get a longer more robust repair,” said Glantz.

Hot mixtures are prepared at over 300 degrees and if applied properly, can fill a pothole for many years. Road repairs take time and the city is often at the mercy of the weather for when they can repair those dreaded road craters and how well they’re done.

They urge patience and ask drivers to be attentive when driving through construction areas to avoid accidents and keep traffic moving.

“The city’s priority is to try and fix as many of those potholes as quickly as possible, but as well as long lasting as possible and be as efficient as possible,” said Glantz.

Lincoln says a good way to make sure a pothole gets filled is to use their up (link) app to report them. The reports come in instantly, and if it’s in a highly trafficked area, the city will work to prioritize it.