Lynn progressing with patching potholes

LYNN – Vehicles traveling up and down Union, Silsbee, Essex and Lynnfield streets and Cedar Brook Road, have undoubtedly hit one of the large potholes wreaking havoc on the roadways.A back and forth winter thaw and re-freeze has added to the uneven patches that are sometimes unavoidable and could cause extensive damage to vehicles that ride over them.Department of Public Works Commissioner Jay Fink said although the city has far fewer potholes than surrounding communities, a large amount of patching was done two to three weeks ago to curb the axle-busting bumps.”We’re doing our due diligence to patch up the potholes and we also track them to see how they are doing,” he said. “More permanent repairs will be done in the spring and summer because that’s when it makes the most sense with the warm weather where we patch everything that we can find.”Cold winter months often serve as a recipe for potholes with snow, ice and rain seeping into cracks in the pavement, causing pieces of the asphalt to break apart. Factor in vehicles frequently driving on the damaged surface, and the situation is exacerbated.”When you get a crack and water gets in, it freezes and expands and then chunks of asphalt come out when cars and trucks hit it,” he said. “So wherever water can get in, pavement can crack.”This year, Fink said a different product that costs $120 per ton – twice the amount of the mixture the city used to use – would be applied to the chronic potholes.”It all boils down to how much oil you have in the mix, because the more that you have, the longer it lasts,” he said. “If the new mixture ends up staying in place, then it will reduce labor costs and be helpful to the public.”Some of the largest potholes in the city are on the Lynnway, which fall under state jurisdiction and are not the city’s responsibility to repair.”That road has had significant construction done to it, and whatever they are using to patch up the holes seems to keep breaking up,” he said. “It really just takes traffic to break up the pavement.”If a pothole is spotted within the city or if a vehicle suffers damage from one, Fink urged people to report the issue immediately.As far as reimbursement for damages, Fink said there is a 50/50 chance of being approved.”A lot of times the city doesn’t pay, but the law department does get a fair amount of pothole claims,” he said. “Compared to other surrounding cities like Boston, I think Lynn is looking pretty good.”