Small cracks are easy to ignore.

Cracks on bridges and roads.

Cracks in walls.

Cracks in sewer pipes.

Those easy-to-ignore small cracks are becoming large cracks. Symptoms of coming trouble are giving way to unmistakable indications of crises.

A bridge collapsed in Minnesota and after years of robbing transportation funds to pay for other needs, government officials announced that countless bridges needed repaired.

Valley motorists learned that, of 916 state-owned bridges in Northumberland, Snyder, Union and Montour counties, 103 have been tagged as structurally deficient, and nine have been posted with weight restrictions.

A bridge in Snyder County carried a "0" inspection rating. Repairs on it began in March. The bridge and others like it were structurally-deficient before the Minneapolis tragedy, but no one cared.

It is human nature to procrastinate, especially when repairs seem costly. Those delays often inflate price tags, a lesson government officials never seem to learn.

Mifflinburg is the latest casualty. The state Department of Environmental Protection has barred the community's sewer system from accepting new customers until repairs are made. Due to a three-year lag, the project cost almost doubled to $15 million.

Adding salt to the wound, the Mifflinburg Borough building has been condemned because of structural problems. Two years ago, an architect estimated the building needed $1.58 million in repairs. Borough officials say they may raze it rather than authorize repairs.

Mifflinburg is coping with a double-whammy of sorts, but the issue must be addressed by other communities too.

The problems should be faced when the cracks are small or, better, before they appear at all. Officials who decline to deal with infrastructure repairs on a timely basis should have no problem placing blame when festering problems become crises -- they need only look in the mirror.

Maintenance may seem costly, but not when compared to the price of massive repairs.