Roads suffering from subfreezing winter

Months of sub-freezing temperatures are taking a toll on many paved rural roads throughout Southern Illinois.

The problem became apparent last week to Saline County Highway Engineer Jeff Jones when he received a call from the Eldorado Township Road Commissioner asking if the county could offer any assistance. On Monday, Jones toured the rural Eldorado area and witnessed the problem first-hand.

"The roads are turning upside down," Jones said.

On Bourland Road the issue was most apparent. With Southern FS providing fuel and farming supplies Bourland Road receives regular and heavy traffic. On several stretches he westbound lane is crumbled for many yards. "Alligator" cracks are evident everywhere, especially on the sides of roads.

"Alligator cracking foretells future damage," Jones said.

There was also damage was on Kaid Road and Moore Road where there are several residences.

"It depends on the weight and volume of traffic," Jones said.

Garbage trucks have a lot of weight on the rear axle and can strain roads.

The roads showing signs of damage are oil and chip roads. Jones suspects townships with constant budget constraints in the past did not build the gravel bases for the roads adequately. This winter the freezing temperature froze the ground deeper than normal winters and the expansion of the ground caused unique strain on the oil and chip surfaces.

Eldorado Township road crews were applying gravel to portions of the roads where damage was most heavy Monday.

Jones expects the deterioration to continue and if damage is extensive, townships may be unable to afford resealing them. That costs $30,000 to $40,000 a mile.

The problem is also evident on a stretch of Battleford Road which is part of the county highway system. Jones said his budget will allow county crews to repair it, but the county does not have the resources to repair all the township roads.

"Our distress we can pretty well handle. It's the townships that may be in dire straits, some more than others," Jones said.

In the past when road damage was extensive the state pitched in, making emergency funds available for road repairs, but he is not optimistic the state will do that now.

"It could be some of these roads are going to go back to gravel," Jones said.

Pierson Road has pretty much gone through that process. Its oil and chip surface has been pulverized into a fine dark, gravel.

The county at one time had a program using the Harco Road Trust Fund to help townships with road repair and the county could consider the option of reinstating that system, Jones said.

<p>In clarification of a Page 1A story in Friday’s newspaper, “Roads suffering from subfreezing winter,” Scott Payne of Payne Farms said the company’s equipment have not used Bourland Road in recently and are not responsible for cold-weather damage that recently became apparent. Payne said the company hauls grain in December and has not hauled on a portion of Bourland Road east of the company’s grain bins since then. He said the company utilized Bourland Road west of its grain bins hauling for two days, but only after receiving permission from the county and it was not during a time when the roads were frozen. Payne Farms has been omitted from the online story.</p>