LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — As weather moves in and out of Central Arkansas, it's prime time for potholes to pop up.
Constant cold and warm temperatures leave roads susceptible for cracks – and eventually, massive potholes.
As crews move into neighborhoods to fix the problems, you probably won't find anyone complaining about the noise they make – just someone happy that work is being done.
"This is what's kind of expected when we get the freeze and thaws and a lot of rain," Eric Petty with Little Rock Public Works said. "We're gonna have a lot of potholes."
Monday's nice weather isn't a chance to relax for Petty and Public Works, it's an opportunity to patch that growing problem.
"So once one shows, they can get real deep, real big, real fast," Petty said. "So the quicker we get it repaired, the smaller the pothole can be. Causes less damage."
That's where these crews come in. Hard at work, they're filling holes one shovel at a time.
Petty said they'll run five trucks with nearly two tons of material on a busy day.
They're not the only ones hard at work, though. There are also other crews in the Natural State doing what they can.
"So really, from the end of February through early April is the prime pothole season," Dave Parker, spokesperson for ARDOT, said.
ARDOT crews are also out on Arkansas' highways, fixing all sorts of issues.
"I was just looking in February of 2022. We had 101 calls or incidents about potholes," Parker said. "97 in March and 117 in April."
Potholes are a pricey problem though. Parker said ARDOT will spend up to $3 million a year just on supplies.
He added that they'll fix as many as they can, but they need drivers to report where they are.
"You guys are the eyes and ears to help us out there, if you see a series of potholes, a dangerous pothole or anything like that, please let us know as soon as possible," he said.
You can do that through the iDrive Arkansas website, or through their app.
That also goes for Little Rock's Public Works' team. They know potholes are going to pop up, but they can't fix them if they don't know about them.
Petty will be the first to tell you that they also want them fixed just as fast as you.
"We understand. We drive on the exact same streets with our own personal vehicles, we want them repaired as quick as possible," Petty said. "But it does take some time."
To report a pothole on Little Rock city streets, you can dial 311.