Even though a relatively mild winter has helped county highway departments save money on salt, it’s causing problems for Montgomery County.
Officials there have issued a travel advisory asking people to stay off gravel roads – mostly in rural areas of the county – for the rest of the week.
And highway crews are out fixing some which have become inundated with rain, causing potholes and soft spots.
“Right now they’re taking care of the complaints, which…just about every road’s a complaint right now," says County Highway Director Jeremy Phillips.
He says the lack of a prolonged deep freeze this winter has meant gravel roadbeds never firmed up like they usually do.
“We’re having a hard time getting caught up because of the saturation," he says. "If we put our trucks on the roads and our equipment right now, we’re tearing them up worse than what just regular traffic is.”
There’s more rain in the forecast for Montgomery County later this week, but Phillips says he’s hopeful his crews can fix enough of the damage before the rain hits that the travel advisory won’t have to be extended.
Montgomery County’s website says there are more than 320 miles of unpaved roads in the county.