Road crews are doing their best; give them a break

To The Daily Sun,

I am not one to air my pet peeves in the public media, but some of the responses to the question on frost heaves called for some reasonable response. I am sure the Public Works director is accurate in pointing to some particularly bad streets in Laconia, though not having driven them, I don't know from experience.

Of the roads I travel in the Lakes Region, streets in Laconia are not that bad, considering the weather extremes we have been experiencing. There are potholes and frost heaves, it is true, but observant drivers who are alert to the approaching road surface can readily see them and avoid them in most cases. Puddles on the roadside from rain or snow melt should be avoided, if at all possible, as they may well hide a pothole and the hydraulic action will make it worse, and maybe even start one that hasn't been there.

The clay soils here in New Hampshire are prone to this seasonal headache we lovingly call "mud season" and short of rebuilding them by removing the clay soils with their embedded rocks and replacing them with good gravel (think of the taxpayer response to Public Works budget requests to do that) that headache is something we have lived with in the past and will have to "grin and bear it" in years to come. Road crews do the best they can, but it is a never ending battle, so give them a break (and your thanks).

Robert Harrington

Laconia