With warmer temperatures in Sturgeon County, the ground has nearly finished thawing. That’s good news for residents – Transportation crews can now begin repairing gravel roads and improving driving conditions.
As the weather warms up, the once-frozen soil beneath the road surface melts, turning from ice to water. During this process, the soil loses the stability that held everything in place during the colder months.
Melting snow and ice on or beside the roads saturate the soil, leading to potholes, ruts, and washboarding. Heavy vehicles driving over the softened roadways only make things worse, grinding the gravel deeper into the mud and creating uneven surfaces that are tough to drive on and costly to maintain.
Sturgeon County crews operating the graders are limited in what they can do until the roads dry out. Grading or adding gravel too early can actually worsen the damage by stirring up more mud.
Once the ground dries and the soil warms up, the roads will be firm again.
In the meantime, here’s how residents can help:
- Avoid unnecessary heavy loads or extensive hauling activity.
- Be patient, road crews will get to work as soon as the conditions allow.
The spring thaw is messy, but it is temporary, dry, gravel roads are ahead!
