One consequence of the cold, snowy and icy weather that hit central Illinois over the past few weeks is beginning to make an impact on roadways: those pesky potholes.
Thankfully for motorists, both the city of Springfield and the Illinois Department of Transportation have teams out on the roads attempting to patch those holes and keep people safe.
IDOT says that the majority of their road crews are out trying to patch those holes along state roads and interstate highways throughout Illinois. Paul Wappel, spokesperson for IDOT, says that the agency is trying to take advantage of relatively warmer temperatures to ensure that roads remain clear.
“There are a lot of them at this time of year,” Wappel said. “We’ve been out and about since the last winter weather event ended trying to take advantage of the warmer temperatures and trying to patch as many potholes as we can.”
Potholes are created during freeze-thaw periods when moisture from water seeping into pavement shifts or breaks asphalt or concrete. People driving over the broken surfaces exacerbate the problem, causing holes of various sizes to be created.