Pothole season arrives early, and road crews are trying to put a dent in it

A rough winter appeared to be on the retreat Tuesday, but not before leaving an island full of potholes in its wake.

Nassau County Executive Laura Curran said workers were out in force filling thousands of the wheel-wrecking cavities in the county's 1,500 lane miles of roads.

Late winter into early spring is prime time for potholes, which form when water seeps into cracks, then expands and contracts as it freezes and melts. The holes are no more numerous than usual this year, Curran said at a news conference in Uniondale, but they started appearing sooner than in years past, a fact she attributed to the snow-heavy winter.

"Pothole season has blossomed early this year," she said at an intersection where workers smoothed hot asphalt on the road. "This brutal weather that we've experienced — it's been more than 3 feet of snow cumulatively this winter — has really wreaked havoc."

In the past six weeks, Curran said, county workers have filled around 11,300 potholes and completed short-term resurfacing projects on 30 miles of roads. The county aims to resurface 150 lane miles this year at an estimated cost of $35 million. Nassau also had a goal of resurfacing 150 lane miles last year, when it paved 172 lane miles for $33 million.

In Suffolk County, spokesman Derek Poppe said workers fill all potholes on county roads within 48 hours of being notified of them. Residents who spot one can call 311 to report it. Nassau residents can report them to their county highway maintenance team by calling 516-571-6900.

Potholes cost the average driver $722 per year in the metropolitan region, according to Rocky Moretti, policy and research director at TRIP, a Washington, D.C., transportation think tank.

Moretti said potholes shorten vehicle life spans, burn extra fuel, require more car repairs and wear out tires faster.

And while the pandemic has kept many cars off of roads, truck traffic — a key cause of the craters — has remained as heavy as ever.

"I anticipate we're going to have a significant pothole season, unfortunately," he said.

The signs are already apparent at Neighbors Automotive in East Meadow, according to owner Barry Eisner, who said he sees a couple customers each week with busted rims and bubbled tires.

The trend is likely to continue, Eisner predicted.

"People are starting to drive again, so it's definitely going to increase," he said.