Crews that spent the past week trying to aid people with flood damage have turned their sights to another budding problem.
Potholes.
Both the Warsaw Street Department and Kosciusko County Highway Department are trying to patch potholes to make the roads easier to travel on.
In Warsaw, Street Department Superintendent Lacy Francis said the potholes are prevalent in the city, but none pose a big danger to drivers.
"We've had a small crew out a half day at a time, patching roads," said Francis.
Most street crews are pulling double duty with trying to aid flood victims and fix potholes.
In the county, the pothole problem is a bit more severe.
"What we've done is put cold asphalt on trucks that are moving around high water signs and as they're doing that, they're also patching up the roads," said Kosciusko County Highway Department Superintendent Dennis Pletcher.
"The problem is, we haven't had a good freeze this winter. It's gotten cold, then warm, then cold again so the roads are more likely to have potholes," said Pletcher. "But we're doing our best for the taxpayers. We're patching them up as calls come in and we're also out looking for them."
Both crews are using a cold asphalt rather than hot asphalt that can only be used during the summer to patch damage to the roads.
Like most residents affected by the flooding and severe weather, the street crews are hoping that things return to normal.
"There have been some long days," said Francis. "We're hoping to get our guys home at a regular time (Friday), but we'll have crews on call for this weekend."
With colder temperatures and some snow in the forecast for this weekend, both city and county crews will be on call this weekend.
The Warsaw Street Department can be reached at 574-372-9561 during the week until 4 p.m.
The Kosciusko County Highway Department can be reached at 574-372-2356 during the week until 4 p.m.
After-hours road emergency calls should be directed to Kosciusko County Dispatch at 574-267-5667.
