Butler County’s commissioners and highway department staff are asking residents to be patient as they work to repair roads across the county, which recently were affected by a perfect storm of factors.
The issue, said Western District Commissioner Boots LeGrand, is many roads have large spots which have become soft and fallen in.
“What happens is after it freezes like we had, it becomes solid and expands, and when it thaws, things fall through,” LeGrand said of the roads, particularly the gravel ones. “Usually it starts happening about five days after it warms up.”
“When it freezes, it separates the dirt. It aerates the ground,” added Presiding Commissioner Vince Lampe.
“It was just a bad combination this year,” explained Butler County Highway Department Superintendent Robbie Moore. “Any time you get that much snow, you’ve got a good chance of getting some issues, especially if it doesn’t stay cold.”
This is only the second time in the last six years Moore can recall seeing widespread road problems after a freeze and thaw cycle.
Deep, muddy holes can be found on roads across the county, Moore said, and his crews even have been working to repair some asphalt roads which have seen sections collapse.
County roads crews, Moore said, have been working diligently to make repairs to as many collapsed sections as possible.
“We had to go in there and cut as much of the muck out of them as we could, and then come in behind with some 3-inch open rock and lay it in there to help form it up,” Moore said.
“Once we bridged them up with that 3-inch and came back over them with some 2-inch, at least we got it passable for them,” Moore said.
However, many spots remain soft and muddy, Lampe said, because the weight of the equipment needed to get the repair work done can create its own problems.
“Sometimes, if you go out there and put trucks on the road, you create more of a problem,” explained Lampe. “The weight of the trucks and the rocks can create a bigger problem than if you just let it settle a little bit.”
Moore agreed.
“More times than not, when we start working on them (too soon), we end up making the road worse than what it was when we started,” he said.
“When you put 30-ton dump trucks on them trying to get to a spot, the next thing you know, you’ve got to pump it to the spot you were trying to fix,” Moore added.
Crews will continue to scrape the mud layer off as many affected areas as they can to let the roads “air out in the sunlight,” Moore said, but only so much can be done.
The best course of action, Moore said, is to let the roads dry out and settle, then fill in the low spots with rock, but that will take time.
“It’s a matter of time to let this stuff heal up,” Moore said. “It’s going to take a little time, so you have to be patient with it. The wind and sun and warmer temperatures will help.
“As long as you can get through, you just have to deal with it for a little bit.”
Lampe said residents are “just going to have to be patient. We’re doing the best we can do.”
Unfortunately, the problem, Moore said, could take several weeks to resolve.
“I figure we’re going to have a month or two of it, but a lot of it could change due to weather,” he said. “I think by the end of next month, we’ll be lined back out.
“Eventually we’ll get them whipped back into shape where you won’t even know they fell in.”