Local Drivers Navigate Roads Plagued by Potholes

The snow has melted, but West Bloomfield drivers who were impeded by the icy, snow-covered roads have a new challenge: navigating around the numerous and sizeable potholes caused by winter's heavy and frequent storms.

Drivers who encountered mornings marked by slow-moving traffic and hazardous ice patches can attribute the experience to the amount and frequency of the snow, as well as to budget cuts resulting from declining revenues, according to Craig Bryson, public information officer for the Road Commission for Oakland County (RCOC). Because West Bloomfield is a township rather than a city, its roads come under RCOC jurisdiction.

“(RCOC) used their limited resources as effectively as possible,” said West Bloomfield Supervisor “They kept in touch with the township officials during the Dec. 12 storm, and they did address the critical roads first, such as those near hospitals and schools.”

When a snowstorm hits, 106 trucks are dispatched to cover designated routes, known as “salt runs.” RCOC rules allow drivers to work no more than 16 consecutive hours before taking a 5½ hour break. After the first run, a second shift took over to clear roads and deposit salt for another 16 hours.

If it seemed like the roads took longer to be plowed and salted this year, it is because there were 50 fewer snowplow/salt truck drivers during possibly one of the snowiest winters in Michigan history. In the past, there were 84 drivers available for the second shift; this year, there were fewer than 40. Staffing levels at RCOC are down by 20 percent since 2007, when revenues, which had been stable for the previous 10 years, began to decline.

Road crews are on call 24/7 during the winter. Most are RCOC employees, although private contractors are sometimes used to service back roads and rural areas. A manager monitors the weather forecast and determines when to call in the trucks. Bryson said either choice can have negative consequences: Money is wasted if crews are called in unnecessarily, and roads become hazardous if the trucks are not deployed in time.

“It’s a tough job,” said Bryson. “A manager has to decide, ‘Do I call, or do I wait?’ ”

Shrinking RCOC revenues have also affected the replacement of aging trucks, which means more frequent breakdowns and lost time for maintenance.

Low priority is given to roads with the least amount of traffic traveling at the lowest speeds. Many homeowners associations hire private snow removal companies to clear subdivision streets, using funds from residents’ dues. Scott Boone of Westacres in West Bloomfield said that in his subdivision, snowplow drivers who live locally provide the service for free.

Some neighborhoods issue special assessments to pay for pothole repair and repaving instead of waiting for their turn with the RCOC.

“There must be a better way to reduce the problems caused by the constant freezing and thawing,” said Oakland County Commissioner Marcia Gershenson. “The Road Commission and the (Michigan) Department of Transportation need to put their heads together. It would be great to have some new ideas.”

Bryson said future staff reductions are likely if expenses continue to increase without a corresponding rise in RCOC revenues, which come from the state gasoline tax, vehicle registration fees and project-specific federal funds.

“Things are not going to change unless there’s some drastic change in state funding,” he said. “The long-term projections for road funding are not good.”