PRIMERA — The road through Primera had been riddled and pockmarked for decades.
Hideous potholes waited in plain sight for the next opportunity to snap at a passing car, its driver struggling to navigate through them.
However, those potholes are now history. Mayor Dave Kusch and other city officials gathered yesterday morning in front of Primera City Hall at 22893 Stuart Place Road. They’d come to celebrate the resurfacing of a section of road whose potholes had damaged wheels and bumpers for years.
“I guess the best way to describe it, it was like a wash board of pot holes and bumps,” the newly-elected mayor said.
A smooth black surface now stretches along 1 1/4 mile of road running past City Hall. Work on the road began in January at a cost of $700,000, paid for by the city.
City officials felt a sense of excitement and relief as they moved quickly to the middle of the road for a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
“It needed to be done,” Mayor Pro-Tem Hilda Siller said. “People are really happy about it. People were complaining about damage to doors and mufflers.”
She said she believed the road hadn’t been resurfaced since the 1940s.
R and R Paving performed the work. Raul Garcia, the engineer for Regg Engineering and Surveying, said the road had been unsafe. Repeatedly filling potholes was costing the city money, and it was a temporary fix.
For a real repair, the surface had to be removed down to the concrete base and replaced with new material. Limestone shoulders were also added.
Now that one section of the road has been repaired, the city is seeking funds to repair another mile.
Meanwhile, residents seemed jubilant they don’t have to navigate potholes along at least one stretch of road. A better road through town will accommodate the city’s plans to attract more people and businesses to the city.
“Our city is developing into a nice place to live,” said Javier Mendez, city administrator.
