The mounds of white stuff that remained on the ground well into April may finally be gone but the damage caused by a long and snowy winter is still visible — nowhere more so than on the area's roads.

Laconia Public Works Director Paul Moynihan said the winter was particularly harsh on some city roads, adding that it was difficult because of the length of the season and because there were a few warm spells immediately followed by frigid temperatures.

"The repeating freeze-thaw cycle, the length of the winter and the amount of precipitation we received all played out to cause more damage to city roads than in other years," Moynihan said.

The impact on the city's budget will not be immediate, however, as the major road repair schedule is planned out three to four years in advance and the department generally does not deviate from the list.

For roads that are damaged during a winter or in some other way, there is a certain amount set aside each year for maintenance shims, which means they put a new top layer down to smooth out problem areas until the road can be completely rebuilt based on the road schedule.

The maintenance shim budget (which is between $50,000 to $75,000 annually) can be used at the department's discretion in deciding each year which roads need the temporary fix most.

"It's not a full reconstruction, but it will maintain the road for another few years," Moynihan said.

Moynihan said it just so happens that some of the roads most affected this winter and spring are roads that were in poor condition already and on the list to be fixed this summer and fall.

One of those roads in Scenic Road, which runs from Lakeside Avenue in Weirs Beach to Watson Road. Moynihan said Scenic Road has been deteriorating for a long time and, because the surface was so cracked, a lot of water was allowed to get under the road, which then refroze, causing more cracking, frost heaves and potholes.

Work on Scenic Road has already begun and is expected to be completed by the first week of June, Moynihan said. All work, except for a final coat of asphalt, will be done in time for Motorcycle Week. The final coat will not be put on until the end of the summer, Moynihan said.

There are seven roads on this year's reconstruction list. The budget for road reconstruction is $1.1 million. The Scenic Road project is the most extensive and expensive, costing approximately half of the department's reconstruction budget at $500,000.

Another road that received heavy damage over the winter and is scheduled to be fixed this year is Leighton Avenue, Moynihan said.

Leighton Avenue is off Daisy Gardner Road, which in turn is off Meredith Center Road.

"That road [Leighton] has suffered greatly," Moynihan said. "The last time we worked on it was approximately 20 years ago."

Clark Avenue, a dead-end street off Union Avenue, is on this year's list, along with the middle portion of Messer Street.

One road that was badly damaged this winter but which is not on the list for reconstruction is Beaman Street, which is off Highland Street.

Moynihan said 75 percent of the cost of each reconstruction project goes toward materials, which have greatly increased in cost over the past four to five years. He added that $1.1 million will pay for the reconstruction of approximately three miles of road. In the past that same amount could reconstruct five miles of road in a year.

Along with the cost of fuel, the cost of everything has gone up, especially the cost of making and laying asphalt. Now it costs between $46 and $50 per ton for asphalt. The cost of the asphalt plus the labor to lay it is approximately $65 per ton. Four years ago the cost of asphalt was approximately $36 per ton and it cost $45 per ton to have it applied.

Moynihan said that, while the majority of the Scenic Road project will be completed by the first week of June, the other road projects will not even begin until after July 1, when the city's new fiscal year begins.

John Hubbard, highway director in Sanbornton, said the town is in the process of assessing the long winter's damage to town roads in preparation for the community's annual town meeting later this month.

Hubbard said the copious amounts of snow were actually beneficial to some roads, especially dirt roads.

"The snow prevented the roads from drying out so they were not as rutted as in some years," Hubbard said.

The worst-damaged town roads are Black Brook Road and Woodman Road.

"There was a lot of heaving and cracking," Hubbard said.

Hubbard said some of the worst-damaged roads in town belong to the state and some of those roads were already slated for repair by the state before the winter hit.

State roads in Sanbornton include Hunkins Pond Road, Upper Bay Road, Lower Bay Road and Bay Road.

The 'Y' project, as it has come to be known, will involve the state fixing a section of Hunkins Pond Road from Parker Hill Road to Bay Road and a part of Upper Bay Road. The town has contributed a portion to the project, Hubbard said.

Bill Boynton, spokesman for the New Hampshire Department of Transportation, concurred that extra freezing and thawing that occurred this winter caused much damage.

New Hampshire already has a high average of freeze-thaw periods but this winter exceeded the average of approximately 130 days.

Once water gets into the cracks of a road and then refreezes, frost heaves and potholes occur, Boynton said.

Boynton said the situation in the North Country was particularly rough, as a number of roads "became, if not unpassable, deteriorated to a point where a person could not go the speed limit."

Some of the state roads (or sections of roads) that were the worst-damaged this winter include:

— In the Lakes Region, portions of Route 104 in Meredith, Route 3 in Plymouth and Route 11 in Alton, as well as Meredith Center Road in Laconia were damaged.

Boynton said his department is currently developing a list of the worst winter-damaged roads. When the list is complete, then decisions will be made as to when or if some of those roads are fixed.

He added that, with projects already budgeted and scheduled and roads that are damaged in general, it may take a while to address some roads.

Also, the extra money the state had to spend on plowing, sanding and salting this year will affect its summer maintenance budget, which includes fixing potholes.

Boynton said the Department of Transportation spends approximately $75 million on road maintenance alone. During a typical winter, Boynton said, it spends about $30 million. This year that amount was increased by $9 million.