HAVRE, Mont. (NMB) – Those driving around Havre have noticed many places around town where areas in the streets are blocked off due to its poor condition. Havre Public Works Director Dave Peterson says the sub-structure of the streets are deteriorating in some areas, causing spots in the road to crumble. Those areas are blocked off, as driving on them makes them worse.
“The asphalt is damaged enough where the moisture just goes through it and it’s getting down into the sub-base of those streets and the clay is working itself up. So, when it does that it makes soft, spongy spots in those streets and it just breaks the asphalt up and it brings that clay to the top.”
Peterson says they have to assess the damage and must wait for the ground to dry up before they can start repairs.
“We’ll try to get into those streets, the ones that we’ve at least got blocked off, as soon as we can. But it just all depends on, you know, how fast that moisture down underneath gets out of there and how it firms itself back up so we can get in there, get a roller in there and, you know, put some new sub-base in there.”
Peterson says they are working on the spots they can, but most of Havre’s streets are old and unable to repel water, which causes them to deteriorate.
