Bend’s record-breaking winter storms left ruts of ice and potholes forming along city streets. But as snow and ice has melted, it’s revealed a new winter road problem — manholes sunken inches below the road’s surface.

David Abbas, streets and operations director for the city, said the phenomenon isn’t unusual, and the manholes themselves aren’t sinking any lower. Instead, the pavement around the manholes has expanded because of water and frost built up under the pavement, he said.

Asphalt expands and contracts with changing temperatures, and so does the ground underneath it. When water gets into the ground under the pavement, it can freeze into ice, which lifts the road’s surface. That can cause manholes to appear lower than the road, but only because the asphalt around them has expanded.

“As things continue to thaw out, some of these will settle back down,” Abbas said. “But some will need some asphalt repairs.”

But manhole repairs aren’t the only road troubles city crews will have to fix. When the ice melts under the surface of the road, it creates gaps beneath the pavement. As cars and trucks drive over those gaps, sections of asphalt start to break apart, creating another winter road problem — potholes.

Abbas said a number of potholes popped up after ice and snow started to thaw in warmer temperatures last week. On a single day last week, street crews patched about 90 potholes, Abbas said.

But the cost to repair damaged manholes and potholes that surfaced following Bend’s harsh winter storms comes as the city is facing an $80 million backlog in road repairs. Figuring out how to pay for those repairs could be tricky.

Bend doesn’t have a consistent funding source to pay for things like pothole repairs and street maintenance. Right now, there’s about $3 million in the street preservation budget for this fiscal year, but at least $4.3 million is needed each year just to keep up current road conditions.

Meanwhile, severe winter storms forced the city to allocate $685,000 for private contractors to clear snowy roads — about half a million dollars more than originally expected. That money comes from a fund that has been used to pay for street maintenance and repairing potholes in the past.

Within the next couple months, city officials and Bend city councilors will be tasked with putting together a budget for the next two years. Abbas is hopeful that city councilors will choose to put money aside for things such as repairing roads and filling potholes.

“We’re really trying to focus on our resources for street maintenance and the conditions of the streets,” Abbas said.

— Reporter: 541-633-2160, mriker@bendbulletin.com