Hazeltine Avenue has been a bumpy, rutted mess for a few years now.

So it’s no wonder that George Patti, president of Signature Paving, told The Post-Journal recently that Hazeltine Avenue residents have been overjoyed to bring his work crews snacks or drinks while they spend hot days removing bricks, leveling the pavement underneath them and then relaying the bricks.

Maintaining Jamestown’s brick roads is a time-consuming, expensive effort. And while the new street should last decades, it’s worth noting the additional time it takes to finish such projects and the deferred maintenance on brick streets that results.

“Once it’s done, they won’t have to touch it for another 50 years,” Patti said.

But ask anyone who has driven the brick area of Chautauqua Avenue, Sampson Street or Howard Street in recent years can tell you those streets have been in need of repair for quite some time. A drive down Howard Street at more than 10 miles an hour will leave a car’s suspension system begging for mercy between South Main Street and Montauk Avenue.

People love Jamestown’s brick streets. They’re a remnant of Jamestown’s history and something that makes the city unique. If maintained, the city’s brick streets are a selling point that neighborhood residents fall in love with.

But when they’re not maintained, they’re a pain — in the teeth, the back and the shocks and struts on any vehicle not designed for off-road use.