The warm daytime temperatures have helped melt away the winter snow, but colder nighttime temperatures are causing problems for some roads. Department of Transportation engineer, Bob Younie, says the water from the melted snow leads to the trouble if it runs through cracks in the pavement and doesn’t fully drain away. The water re-freezes at night.

He says one of the bad things we see this time of year are the “ice lenses” that form underneath joints of old roads and they cause that joint to push up. Younie says the ice lenses are just like ice cubes that form under the pavement, and they can lead to bigger problems.

Younie says the ice bends the asphalt or concrete and it can then pop loose and then you have a pothole. Younie says patching holes and sealing cracks can prevent the problem on newer roads, but for older roads, it’s hard to prevent.

Younie says it gets to the place in some of the older roads that no matter what you do, it makes it difficult to keep the ice bumps from forming. Younie says some roads will settle back and can be patched once the freezing and thawing stops, but other roads that are too cracked need to be replaced to prevent the problem next year.