BRAD STREHLOW, LEFT, and Alex Hiatt of the Iron Mountain Public Works Department fill potholes on North Milwaukee Avenue. (Theresa Proudfit/Daily News photo)

IRON MOUNTAIN — The annual battle is on to keep up with the seasonal holes, cracks and craters that open up in Iron Mountain and Kingsford roads during the spring thaw.

At this stage, the potholes have the advantage of numbers.

“We’re trying to get the worst ones first,” Iron Mountain City Manager Jordan Stanchina said, adding two teams filling potholes use a combined total of almost 8 tons of asphalt every day.

The lingering freeze-thaw cycle and meltwater has made repairs difficult in both cities, as patches and fill do not set well in wet asphalt, so won’t last, officials said.

In Kingsford, employees are cutting ice to channel water into drains, City Manager Anthony Edlebeck said. Some of the worst potholes will be barricaded until roads dry.

Iron Mountain workers will weigh whether certain potholes should only have temporary repairs, as a large paving project is scheduled for the summer on several roads, so the surface will be crushed and 3 inches of new asphalt laid over the surface.

Though some of the summer work might have to be dialed back due to what was needed this winter. Road maintenance costs already are over budget by about $27,000, Stanchina said, largely due to a drastic increase in the price of salt, which went from $55 to $75 a ton.

While the early winter months were mild, Stanchina said, January and February brought an unexpected amount of ice.

“We used a lot of salt on the major roads,” Stanchina said.

Echoing Stanchina’s comments on budget, Edlebeck said Kingsford likely exceeded maintenance costs even though the city generally plans for severe winters.

“It’s an unusual year,” Edlebeck said, adding Kingsford will borrow from reserves to cover maintenance, which could affect paving projects going forward.

The long hours city employees logged keeping streets plowed, winging snowbanks, clearing fire hydrants and removing massive snow mounds also contributed to budget overruns in both cities.

“There’s a lot of overtime in there,” Stanchina said.