Thursday, February 2, 2012

Most Winters, Wichita streets are full of snow and ice. This year, they are full of construction cones.

"Because it's been a little bit warmer, and we've had less snowfall, there have been several days and weeks that we've had the opportunity to do some more minor street repairs like cracked sealants, and asphalt repairs," said Ben Nelson, Strategic Services Manager for Wichita Department of Public Works & Utilities.

So far this Winter, public works employees have had long lists of street maintenance projects to complete.

In a normal year, most of the projects would not be implemented until Spring.

The city is also saving taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars so far this year, by keeping plows inside parking lots and off the streets.

Out of a $546,925 budget, the city has only spent $139,203. Most of it was spent on equipment and materials needed to replenish supplies from the year prior.

Just because $407,722 remains, some or all could still be used.

"We won't really know whether we're going to have savings until we get through the end of the Winter time," said Nelson.

If savings do remain, the extra cash will move to the general fund, to be used for the other expenses like infrastructure, police and fire.

Best of all, if you are not a fan of those pesky potholes, this may be the perfect Winter for you.

"Because it's been warmer, and we haven't had as many freeze and thaw cycles as we normally do, we're hopefully not going to have as many potholes come springtime," said Nelson.