Pothole Repairs Cost Northfield About $10,000 a Year

It's pothole season in Northfield and city staff are out every day fixing the roads.

"Right now, I’ve got issues flooding, pot holes and plowing in between," Northfield streets and parks supervisor TJ Heinricy told the Northfield News. "It’s all in a day's work."

In the past three years, the city of Northfield has spent $31,339 on pothole repairs, according to the paper.

City employees work year round repairing pot holes, but in the heart of the winter they're limited to cold mix, which does not set as well and is more likely to come loose than hot mix.

Northfield residents can report potholes on the city's website or by calling the Streets and Parks department (507-645-3050). Today the department was kept busy with six priority repairs.

The Northfield News has more on how the department keeps up with pothole repairs:

Maple Street is already tabbed for major work in the summer months, but — just as with streets in better shape — fixing holes is an ongoing process for Northfield's city workers that has been happening since January.

"We know the problem areas," Heinricy said. "We try to take care of the baddest ones and work our way down."

[...]

Once Northfield workers have the mix, they set to packing in holes, usually with "one or two shovels full" of the mix. Heinricy said this year has been much worse than last because of the thaw-then-freeze combination similar to two years ago.

"There are some out there that are nasty holes, and you have to make sure people are safe," he said.