by REEGAN LLOYD
BOOM! You hear it each time you drive down a road in Duluth as your tire falls into a pothole. The road conditions in Duluth are a source of concern and frustration, and still a solution is unclear.
After a rough winter in Duluth, what starts out as a small crack in the road, over months becomes a pothole big enough to cause extensive damage to a vehicle. Currently the city of Duluth uses a technique that is termed "capping," when asphalt or blacktop is layered over the pothole. This surface tends to be smoother, and it prevents water from entering into the subsurface, which is how potholes are born.
Capping has been used for a long time, but is it necessarily the best way to fix the roads? Not according to some people.
"The winters are too rough on the roads. It makes sense to invest in a long-term solution," said Kelly Duchene, a resident near Chester Park.
Although capping is dramatically less expensive, it may not be what the roads need. Councilman Dan Hartman noted that in the next five years, over 100 out of the 400 roads in Duluth will be repaired. This is possible because the city has been fixing 1 mile of road per year, for the past 2 years.
The city is aware of the frustrations of its residents and is doing everything possible to get the roads fixed. Some residents are willing to put up with more traffic and detours in exchange for a better road to drive on.
"It'll take a lot more work than people think, so they will just have to deal with the roads being bad longer, or until the problem can be fixed," said Maria Leider another Duluth resident.
Until a long-term solution can be created, many vehicles mayjust have suck it up and continue suffering through the beatings of Duluth's potholes.
Leave a comment