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'Pothole Patrol' tackles Spring wear on central Mo. roadways

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The Missouri Department of Transportation reports that it's filled more than 10,000 potholes in central Missouri in the past month, as part 0f its "Missouri Pothole Patrol" program to address problems on roadways produced by the spring thawing.  MoDot launched the pothole patrol in mid-march in an effort to fix Missouri potholes as soon as possible. 

The program was in effect from March 18th to April 15th.  Mo-Dot’s Sally Oxenhandler says that even though the department filled over ten thousand potholes, there is still work to be done.

   “It’s not something we like to do, we wish we didn’t have any potholes at all to fill, but it is just part of the routine maintenance that we have to perform on our highways, especially those that are older and more heavily traveled.”

As well as the 10,000 potholes the Pothole Patrol filled in central Missouri, Mo-Dot filled 65,000 more holes across the state during that month.

Oxenhandler says the spring is the season of the year that the most pot-holes form.  She says the freeze-thaw cycle of the moisture in the pavement during springtime can make spots on the road buckle, and as people drive over these buckles potholes can form.

Even though the Pothole Patrol is over, Mo-Dot will still continue with routine maintenance on potholes throughout the year