Stephanie Effken

    You are driving down the streets of Seward at the speed limit, of course, of approximately 35 miles-per-hour, listening to your favorite country station.
     Suddenly, you are jerked around the drivers seat and a loud BANG deafens you. Your head pounds.
     "Did my tire pop?" you ask yourself.
     You quickly glance in the review mirror expecting to see part of your engine lying in the middle of the road.
     You just hit a pothole.
     Due to the harsh winter in Seward, the City of Seward's Street Foreman Mel Aldrich said potholes are especially bad this year.
     Potholes are caused by moisture seeping down into cracks of the asphalt that freezes and thaws throughout the winter season.
     Seward's wet winter and frigid temperatures have created prime conditions for potholes Aldrich said.
     The city has a couple methods to fill in potholes. The less expensive solution is a cold mix called saturock. The city buys saturock in bulk which costs $80 a ton. Aldrich estimates ordering three shipments a year, depending on the conditions of the road.
     The more expensive solution is a perma-patch, a plastic and asphalt mix that come s ready to pour. One 60-pound bag of this perma-patch cost $12.75.
     The continual ice and moist conditions makes difficult for Aldrich and his crews to find a weather-permitting day in which to work.
     "The holes need to be clean," Aldrich said. "We clean them and we want them to be dry before we fill them."
     The City Roads Department does, however, have one thing going for them– the brick streets.
     Aldrich said there are not many problems with potholes on the brick.
     "The bricks are durable and they last forever." he said. "The moisture doesn't affect them. There is a concrete base, sand and then brick. The street depth is about eight or nine inches. It is a good road."
     Aldrich said to repair potholes in Seward it costs the city between $1,000 and $1,200 a year on material and approximately $1,000 in labor. That would be about 25 to 30 hours of labor for a couple crews of two men over a period of five days.
     Though Aldrich said crews have been out trying to fill in potholes, there are still many to be found.
     Mechanic Brian Fehlhafer of Midwest Automotive in Seward said that with the number of potholes in there area, it is important to be aware while driving.
     Some of the damage that can occur to a car, Fehlhafer said, includes main tire damage and suspension and steering damage.
     "Potentially, someone could spend $100 to several hundred on repairs," Fehlhafer said.
     He said, the best advice he can give to a driver who approaches an unavoidable pothole is to hit the pothole as slowly as possible.
     "Don't brake while you are hitting the pothole," he said. "It puts more stress on steering and braking and really is hard on the tires."