Pothole Season Lasting Longer Than Usual Due To Brutal Winter
BOSTON (CBS) - It's like a bad winter hangover that just won't quit.
In the hot August sun, public works crews across Massachusetts are still scrambling to smooth out potholes from this past winter.
"This one fell into a pothole in Newton Corner, and came in on a flatbed," said Barry Steinberg of Direct Tire and Auto in Watertown.
He was pointing to a row of dented tire rims.
"This one, the driver said last night he hit something on Route 2."
These are issues that usually come up in February or March, still haunting Boston and surrounding communities.
"They expect this in the winter, it's unusually late," said Steinberg.
In South Boston, a crew paved over a pothole they couldn't get to when it was buried under infamous piles of snow this winter.
Even in the springtime, they could do little more than a temporary patch, which eventually wore away.
"The crews have been out there more so in the months of July and August than we've seen in past years," said Interim Boston Public Works Commissioner Mike Denehy.
"We had a very late thaw," he added, explaining the crews got a late start cleaning up after record amounts of snow.
He says it's critical for cities and towns to catch up before the season changes.