Whether or not we’ll see snow in Lincoln this winter, street maintenance crews are getting on top of the potholes before they scuff your tires. Lincoln Transportation and Utilities announced Wednesday it completed more than 2,600 lane blocks of crack sealing preventative maintenance in fiscal year 2022-2023.
That amount represents five times the amount of lane blocks completed since the program began in 2019, and underscores the City’s commitment to ongoing maintenance efforts, highlighting its dedication to improving street infrastructure.
With a lack of winter weather so far street maintenance crews have been able to get out and patrol the streets of Lincoln filling as many cracks and joints as possible. “We’ve had a couple of rain and freezing events this year, but we haven’t had any major snowfall yet, so hopefully we’ll be able to continue to maintain that throughout the year and we won’t have too many freeze thaw cycles,” LTU Street Maintenance Superintendent Clay Engelman told KLIN News.
(Courtesy: LTU)
Engelman says crack sealing uses hot pour rubber to shield street surfaces from moisture and debris, ultimately extending the lifespan of the street network. Using an air compressor and heat lance, LTU crews clear debris and moisture from cracks before applying a hot pour rubber sealer.
He says crack sealing is a routine but important process that preserves street conditions and helps prevent the formation of potholes that result from the winter freeze/thaw cycle. Due to LTU’s crack sealing and pothole patching work, pothole patching requests have decreased an average 13% since 2019, Engelman said.
He says a significant portion of LTU’s crack sealing efforts are focusing on an 11-mile portion of “O” Street between West 56th and East 98th streets. The project began in November and will continue through the next several months.