LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Workers have been using toilet paper to speed repairs of cracks in Lincoln streets.

The city uses tar to seal cracks before they worsen into potholes. The workers sometimes have to wait up to 40 minutes — hampering traffic flow — for the tar to cool down and firm up. Otherwise the tar could splatter onto vehicles.

But a streets supervisor, Clay Engelman, says that as soon as workers lay down the tar, they can apply the toilet paper. He says the paper takes away the stickiness and covers the tar so vehicles immediately can drive on it.

The toilet paper technique isn’t new, but Engelman says Lincoln had resisted it largely for fear of getting complaints about its appearance.