Winter turns Lynn roads into a hole-y mess

LYNN – Winter has spent itself blasting cold fury across the land and now it is time for all drivers to tussle with the season?s evil offspring – potholes.Local auto body repair shops are bracing for record business as drivers limp in with damaged rims, skewed alignments and other problems.?Anybody in our business has seen an uptick,” said Rick Starbard, owner of Rick?s Auto Collision on North Shore Road (and a member of the Lynn School Committee).?We have a lot of pothole business right now – definitely more than last year: Cars are getting beat up,” Pudgy?s Auto Repair owner Tom Kasper said.Ending the menace potholes pose is part of Lynn DPW Commissioner Andrew Hall?s job description. He has a list of his worst spots around the city, including Walnut Street between Flint and Childs streets; Western Avenue at Chatham Street; Ocean Street near Wave Street and the Fernwood Avenue hill – to name a few.?We?re fixing them as quickly as we can,” Hall said.DPW crews face the same problem annually when it comes to filling potholes: A filling mixture called “cold patch” does the job in a pinch, but the better, longer-lasting solution is to use “hot patch.”Hall has sent city employees daily to Dracut to pick up batches of patch. Hot patch is manufactured at the Aggregate Industries plant in Peabody and at a plant in Watertown, but Hall said Dracut is currently the most available source for the pothole patching mix.?I sent two trucks out today,” he said Monday.Starbard said drivers should not simply grin and bear it when it comes to bouncing over potholes. A “pulling” sensation following a collision with one of the teeth-jarring holes is a warning sign that a car should be checked for alignment or suspension problems.?It can create unsafe conditions,” Starbard warned.Hall said the best way to eliminate potholes is to repave streets, and 15 local streets are on a late spring and summer construction list. Lynn and other communities across the state received good news from Gov. Charlie Baker, who filed legislation seeking authorization, according to State House News Service, to borrow $200 million to pay for repairs to local streets and bridges.?There is a light at the end of the tunnel but we urge people to drive carefully,” Hall said.