There's something missing on Lincoln streets. That's the pavement. Lincoln Mayor Chris Beutler knows that very well.

"In terms of potholes, we topped the 50,000 mark this last week. We've invested close to 14,000 hours in our pothole operation and we've used nearly 800 tons of cold mix material," said Beutler.

Cold mix is just a temporary patch. As the potholes appear, complaints pour-in. Andrew Edwards is with street department.

"As of right now we're getting about 60 to 65 calls a day and that means our crews our only doing about 5 but as we continue to search out there we're actually filling about 100 holes per crew a day," said Edwards.

Long term the mayor says there is money for more than just patching up the problem. More than $9 million in federal stimulus money on top of nearly $7 million in local funding will be used.

"These stimulus dollars will ripple throughout the local economy as work begins and new jobs are created," said Beutler. "At the same time, we'll all see the benefits of 20 miles of major street rehabilitation throughout the community."

The mayor says another good thing from the city's perspective is bids for the projects are coming in lower than expected, meaning the money will go farther.