City streets can become littered with pot holes this time of year.
And bridges and on ramps are no different.
They get their general upkeep throughout the Winter - filling in those pot holes for the temporary fixes.
But the big projects may be put on the back burner as a new bridge connecting Iowa and Illinois is on the horizon.
The Iowa DOT controls what happens with the I-74 bridge - running in both directions.
Doug Rick - Future Projects Manager for the DOT - is the go-to guy for that bridge.
With a new I-74 bridge set for construction in 2018 - Rick says it can be difficult to decide when big project may be necessary.
"It's a balance, we have to catch it at the right time," says Rick. "We don't just have the funds to just resurface a road every 5 years. We have to look at all our roads and prioritize which one are in need first."
So for right now - pot holes that sport the bridge and the on and off ramps -will continue to just be patched.
But understanding the difference between a general street and the concrete on a bridge is important.
Rick explains, "Generally the concrete on a bridge is structurally more beefy. It's not going to break up as easy."
Making pot holes on the bridge smaller.
But problems can happen - and for now - temporary fixes will have to do.
"We really don't want to get to where we have to reconstruct a roadway when we know within the next five years- we will have a project."
