Pothole work has a hefty price tag Arlington Hts.

Some of the potholes in Arlington Heights are so big they shouldn't even be called potholes anymore, said Village President Arlene Mulder.

"They're like potholes inside potholes," she said at a Monday committee of the whole meeting.

There are 40 large potholes throughout the village that need to be fixed and the village budgeted about $73,000 them this year. But when paving companies recently bid on the project, the lowest bid came in at $177,000, said Village Manager Bill Dixon.

Trustees verbally agreed to the added expense on Monday.

At the meeting, Dixon passed out photos of some of the larger potholes that showed loose or splitting pavement. Those locations were at Eastman just south of Salem, the 700 block of East Valley, and the 1100 block of South Dunton.

"They're more than potholes really," Dixon said. "We're talking about whole sections of blocks that failed."

There are several reasons for the $104,000 budgeting difference, said Director of Public Works Scott Shirley. The first is that materials such as fuel and asphalt have risen significantly. Another is that last winter included several storms that quickly froze and thawed streets, causing breaks, Shirley said.

The patching work must be completed this year before asphalt plants close and the snowplowing season begins, he said.

"The public works department just doesn't have the equipment to do this properly," Shirley said.

The money to fund the extra pothole work will come from several village funds that currently have surpluses.

Those funds are the paver brick maintenance fund, the arterial street lighting fund and the corridor beautification fund, according to a staff memo.

The village board will formally vote on the fund transfer on Sept. 15.