NORTHEAST OHIO — The Ohio Department of Transportation is transitioning from winter to spring.
Crews can still be spotted out on the roads. Not behind the wheel of a snow plow, but out on the side of the road filling potholes.
"We get complaints from the public, or we see them and report them," District 12 Highway Technician Nancy Colon said. "Then, we come out and fill them."
When News 5 caught up with Colon's crew as they were working along I-480 near Brookpark Road.
The three highway technicians stopped every few inches to grab their shovels and place the patching material on the potholes.
While they worked, two spotters in trucks directed traffic into the other lane and kept an eye out for any hazards to the workers.
It may seem like a slow process, but ODOT crews in District 12 have been working hard. The department said about 118 tons of patching material have been placed on the roads since the beginning of March.
The work isn't complete as crews find more and more each day. Colon figured she already filled over 500 potholes.
"That's just in a week," she said. "There's thousands out there."
Filling potholes is a nice break after winter made a comeback this year in Northeast Ohio.
"If you're looking at winter this year compared to last year," ODOT District 12 Public Information Officer Brent Kovacs said. "This winter was twice as bad as last year."
The difference is in the amount of salt used: 88 tons this year and 37 last year. The number of hours spent on the roads also increased from 58,000 last year to 89,000 this year.
Kovacs said none of these increases affected ODOT financially. He also said the increase in these numbers doesn't necessarily indicate a harsher winter but rather a return to normal winters in Northeast Ohio after several mild ones.
One statistic ODOT would like to see lowered is the amount of snow plow accidents. This winter saw 53 crashes compared to last year, a record-breaking number.
"We've done things like adding green and white flashing lights on the back of the trucks to bring more attention to them as they are working on the roads," Kovacs said. "I don't know what else we can do."
It's a concern that persists throughout the year. A week ago, an ODOT vehicle was struck on I-90 as crews picked up litter.
"We can never say it enough," Kovacs said. "Always move over for a vehicle with flashing lights whether it has a plow on the front or a pothole patching or construction crew."
As Colon continues to fill the thousands of potholes on interstates in District 12, she also asks drivers to be mindful of her and her coworkers.
"Move over and slow down," she said. "I can't express that enough. I want to go home the same way I came this morning."
See a pothole on the interstate? Click here to report it to ODOT.
