Long winters are hard on roads. Recently many potholes have been appearing across the streets of Mars Hill, Presque Isle and Bridgewater. Fixing the roads during winter can be very challenging. The cold weather can be dangerous to repair crews. Snowbanks can make it difficult for crews to set up the equipment needed to repair the holes.
The City of Presque Isle has found a solution in an unlikely source. Lawmakers are seeking to use chewing gum to plug the holes. Using the gum in place of asphalt will help cut costs and provides a quick, easy solution to the pothole problem.
For this to work, the gum must be pre-chewed. It will take an estimated 100,000 square feet of the sticky substance to plug every hole. Yhe city may have taken on a project too big for it to handle, however. Each piece of gum must be chewed for exactly one minute. The city is unable to hire enough mouths to chew the gum to be able to finish repairs this year.
Chief-Chewmaster Cassandra Kim oversees 12 chewers. “It’s a big project,” Kim said. “We come in and get started chewing as soon as the day starts. Shifts are eight hours, but with all the new product, we are working 12-hour days.” Not any old gum will work, however. The gum that needs to fill the holes must be a specific kind.
Chewing gum expert Paul Shin has chosen which gum would be best for filling the potholes. “In my expert opinion, I would say that Hubba-bubba is the one to use,” Shin said. “Gum takes about four hours to harden, and when it does, it is perfectly safe to drive over.”
The gum will provide a quick fix for the rest of the winter. Once things begin to heat up again during the summer, the gum may soften. Shin has stated that this will not be a problem. “The gum will continue to stick to the potholes,” Shin assures. “Besides, it will be fun to see all the black tar brightened up with pink and blue.” The city is estimated to save one-third of its annual budget by switching to gum.
