Shelley's road to a lasting pothole solution - East Idaho News
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Shelley’s road to a lasting pothole solution

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SHELLEY — Annual frustration about potholes on State Street/U.S. Highway 91 has city officials looking for a lasting solution.

Dozens of large potholes plague the 2-mile stretch of U.S. 91 that runs through Shelley. But city officials say because the main road is also a highway they are not obligated to repair the road damage. Meanwhile, the Idaho Transportation Department is scrambling to find the money to advance a repaving project on the dilapidated road.

EastIdahoNews.com has received numerous complaints from residents about the road. And city officials say it’s a complaint they’ve been hearing a lot about this year.

“It’s a disaster that started on the north side of town and now runs all the way through,” Shelley City Councilman Jeff Kelley tells EastIdahoNews.com. “It’s a problem we deal with every year, but this year it’s especially worse.”

Officials say the potholes are the worst around intersections and in some spots cause drivers to swerve to avoid damaging their vehicles.

“It can be hard to maintain your lane in some areas, and we have asked our police officers to give drivers a pass who might be avoiding potholes,” Kelley said.

The road is among the most used in the community of just over 4,000 people. Traffic counts in 2015 show an average of 8,000 vehicles passing through Shelley every day, according to ITD.

City officials stress that repairs to the road are not the responsibility of the City Council.

“Drivers navigating through the potholes should know that it’s the state’s responsibility to maintain the road as it is a state road,” Kelley said.

And the Idaho Transportation Department is working on repairing the road. Within the last week, 4 tons of asphalt has been used to patch the rough spots and those efforts will continue until about April, ITD District Engineer Ed Bala tells EastIdahoNews.com.

The problem this year, Bala said, has been the increased precipitation and varied temperatures.

“This year has been unusual,” Bala said. “Our road temperatures there are showing six to eight freeze and thaw cycles a day. The highway there has two layers. The second layer is fine, but we are seeing a near-complete failure to the top layer. And (potholes) really can be expected when there is constant water seeping down, freezing, expanding and then working its way even deeper with each thaw.”

City officials say the recent short-term repairs aren’t enough.

“ITD is only patching the inside lanes, and those patches are crumbling,” Kelley said. “The outside lanes are left littered with potholes.”

Winter patch jobs are a temporary fix, according to ITD’s website. Absorbing the moisture loosens and breaks up the patches. Only after the potholes are able to dry completely can a more durable patching material be used and be expected to last. State funds pay for the pothole patching, the same funds that are used to plow roads and treat the roadways with salt, sand and deicer during winter months.

ITD does have a long-term solution for fixing the road.

“We had a repaving project scheduled for a couple years out,” Bala said. “But due to the nearly complete failure of the top layer of asphalt there in Shelley, we are doing what we can to advance the project to this summer.”

Bala says a proposal to completely repave the road will be submitted by March 1. Officials hope to get approval on the project by June and hire a contractor to get started on the project.

To pay for the repaving, the Idaho Transportation Department will need to come up with about $2 million from within their budget. Officials say that since the project has been moved forward, money will have to be pulled from other projects or other projects will have to be postponed.

Kelley says residents concerned about vehicle damages caused by the potholes should contact ITD, since they are ultimately responsible.

“If it were a city road in that poor of condition, I can definitely see a vehicle owner filing a tort claim seeking compensation for damages, and the city would likely be responsible,” Kelley said.

However, according to the ITD website, avoiding pothole damage is the driver’s responsibility. Potholes and other broken pavement sections are considered roadway hazards, and drivers are advised to take extra precaution in these damaged areas.

To report potholes in Shelley, contact the Public Works Department at (208) 357-1991.

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