CUMBERLAND COUNTY, Pa. - It's Springtime, which means more than just flowers popping up around the area. Potholes are also beginning to open up all over area roads. As they begin popping up on roads all across the area, road crews know they're out there.
"We make sure we are out on the roads," said Dan Storm, Cumberland County PennDOT. "We make sure we're getting a good assessment of what we need to do at that point."
What seems to be the biggest problem is rain. "When we had such a wet year like we've had," said Storm. "It really makes the issues a lot worse."
PennDOT crews have been using cold mix pothole repair in emergency situations, but it's not a permanent fix.
"We've been out trying to get them to where they're drivable," said Storm. "And not having harm to anybody's vehicles."
If your car is damaged from a pothole you can submit a claim through PennDOT but most times if that pothole hasn't been reported to them, they won't be held liable for any damages.
"It has to be more that we were negligent," said Fritzi Schreffler, PennDOT spokeswoman. "That we were not able to get out there in a suitable amount of time to fix the pothole."
Crews will begin using hot mix repair in the coming weeks, which is a more permanent solution. But, they can't use it until it's above 50 degrees outside and the roadways are dry. In the meantime, PennDOT is asking people to report potholes when they see them.
"Our crews can't be everywhere at every time," said Schreffler.
Crews are aiming to be out in full force with pothole repairs by April 15th. How to report a pothole to PennDOT can be found here.
