Due to a late January lull in the extreme weather that eastern Iowa has seen this winter, Marion's Streets Department was about normal on overtime hours as of last week, but more storms like those forecast for this week could push the department over the 1,950 overtime hours allotted in the city's budget.

The area has been pounded this winter by a string of snow and ice storms, as well as by often frigid temperatures. The severe weather has demanded much out of municipal workers, putting in long hours on holidays and weekends to ensure that drivers have as decent a driving conditions as circumstances will allow.

At a city council meeting in January, Public Services Director Tom Newbanks told council members that the department was coming close to its budgeted overtime hours, more than two months before spring's official start. However, as of last week, Newbanks said the overtime hours were balancing out, due to slightly better weather in the past few weeks.

While Newbanks said he still didn't have a definite tally, he estimated that Public Services was likely to be "over a little bit" in terms of the hours it typically expects to use by early to mid-February, although still relatively close to that average.

Meanwhile, Newbanks said Marion is facing no shortages of sand or salt, despite the city having to use more sand this winter than it ever has. During the weeks-long stretch of sub-zero temperatures in late December and early January, Newbanks explained that Public Services had to rely on sand to add traction to the streets, as salt fails to thaw pavement at the temperatures the city experienced. The city has maintained a reliable supply of salt for two years now, since reaching an agreement with a local transportation company that can pick up salt from a mine in Kansas on return trips to Marion.

Newbanks said that road repair was not much of an issue until the end of January, due primarily to frigid temperatures.

Potholes are created by moisture repeatedly freezing and thawing in cracks in the pavement, eventually causing a road's surface to break apart in areas. Because the temperature didn't get above freezing for several weeks in the first part of the winter, moisture never had a chance to thaw, preventing new potholes from forming.

However, in recent weeks, the roads have suffered damage as the temperature has cycled between below and above freezing. Residents can report potholes to the Marion Public Services Department by calling it at 377-6367.