The heavily-traveled area of the Jack Tone Road interchange near Love's Travel Stop and the Flying J Travel Center has sustained much wear and tear in recent years.

The Ripon City Council earlier this month approved having Tom Mayo Construction, Inc. to repair some of the major rutting and various potholes in need of immediate attention.

According to staff reports, some of the rough patches on the road were from existing utilities beneath the streets being excavated by City of Ripon public works staff in certain areas for necessary repairs.

The excavated areas were backfilled with a temporary cold mix asphalt until permanent repairs can be made from a general engineering contractor.

Currently, Ripon has identified 44 locations that require some type of localized asphalt repairs. Of that, 37 were due to water leaks while a handful of patches were related to sewer and miscellaneous roadway potholes.

Estimated cost for Tom Mayo Construction to handle the work is to "not exceed $55,000" from the Water & Sewer Enterprise Capital Funds and the Street & Road Operating Fund.

Elected leaders, in addition, were also concerned about the road bumps on the top and bottom parts of the overpass.

City Administrator Kevin Werner noted that city staff will spearhead the efforts of "grinding down" those areas.