NJ Crews Working Hard To Fix Plethora Of Potholes, Say Drivers Can Help Out Too

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- It's that time of year again, and drivers better brace themselves. As the weather warms up, it seems like potholes are springing up everywhere.

CBS 2's Kathryn Brown was on pothole patrol Wednesday to find out what areas are the worst affected and what's being done to fix them.

Dodging potholes can feel like a full-time job when you are behind the wheel and if you feel like it has never been worse, you might be right.

Brown caught up with Hudson County's pothole crew on County Road, patching deep craters with hot tar.

"Spring is the season for filling potholes," said Donny Feliciano of the Hudson County Department of Roads.

Crews said when it comes to rough roads, this year is worse than most.

"Usually it snows and once it stops we'll go at the end and get all the potholes, but this year since it was so many small snowstorms, it just kept pulling everything back out," said Feliciano.

Drivers said the difference is noticeable and that's not all they said.

"Very annoying," said Patrick Cucorullo.

"Always bad everywhere," added Mike El Said, who is out hundreds of dollars after hitting a big pothole last week.

"Just [went] through the pothole and the axle broke," El Said said "Because I got an Audi, it cost me like $750."

In New Jersey, to compliment crews doing pothole patchwork by hand, the Department of Transportation also uses six machines, called "pothole killers."

They're quick, require just one person to operate and streamline the whole process.

Drivers who feel permanently stuck on pothole dodging duty said crews can't work fast enough to repair the winter-weary roads.

"It's terrible, they have to fix it," said taxi driver Ramone Mangumay.

Crews want drivers to help fix the trouble spots. Drivers can report potholes online in most areas, including in New Jersey.

Crews said by doing that, you'll help them get to rough spots quicker. Sometimes, they'll be able to repair a pothole within a couple of hours of being reported.

The New Jersey DOT said it plans to fill 200,000 potholes before June.

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