City officials continue road repairs after winter

The City of Huntington will spend approximately $2 million this year repairing potholes left behind from the harsh winter.

The final thaw from February’s storms caused citywide damage for blacktopped roads.

Clarice Stradwick, Marshall University freshman psychology major, said the bumpy terrain frequently complicates her daily commute.

We have to check our cars a lot because it feels like, where the potholes are so big, that there’s damage done,” Stradwick said. “Luckily nothing has happened.”

Jim Insco, Public Works director, said the city has laid approximately 40 tons of blacktop this year for repairs.

“We are milling the potholes out, making them more square, and coming back in and fixing them the correct way,” Insco said.  “What removes the blacktop is the water that gets underneath, so if you square it off and seal the edges, it doesn’t eliminate [water damage], but it does keep water from forming.”

Although many repairs have already been made, the road conditions have already caused damage for some residents, including Neicey Chapman.

Chapman, a junior political science and finance double-major, said a pothole encounter was responsible for her $116 investment in a new tire.

“I was driving down Eighth Ave one day and tried to avoid one of the multiple potholes and ending up hitting another,” Chapman said. “Because of that little emergency, I missed work that day and was late on my rent.”

Repairs have already been made, but the road conditions are still rough in some parts of the city.

“I know in other places in Huntington they would go and take parts of the road out before they filled them in,” Stradwick said. “That caused a lot of havoc because [we] have to swerve through the roads trying to miss the scraped up parts.”

Insco said this winter especially took a toll on the 200 plus miles of Huntington streets.

“[Repairing roads] is an ongoing process, so it never ends,” Insco said. “But we are out, we’ve had two crews out for a little over a month, and we’ll continue doing that until we get caught up. The weather definitely has an effect on how quickly we get them done but as of right now the weather’s been very cooperative so we’re moving forward.

Constituents in Huntington are encouraged to report potholes in their area and may check the status of previously reported potholes.

Lexi Browning can be contacted at [email protected].