Say the word pothole and nearly everyone has an opinion. ODOT knows they are a problem too. Right now crews are out repairing the potholes, but it's a challenge.
"We've spent nearly 46,000 hours already filling potholes this winter and have used about 2800 tons of material and will continue to do that," said ODOT spokesperson Matt Bruning.
ODOT is also looking into better pavement. That's one of the jobs of the technicians at the ODOT asphalt testing lab.
"So the things they test for are density of pavement to make sure we don't have air voids in the pavement that lets water get in there, " said Bruning.
When water gets into the pavement, it can freeze, then crack the asphalt. The fewer the bubbles they see in the tests, the denser the asphalt which can help reduce potholes from forming. But you can't make pavement without some air voids, said Bruning, otherwise the pavement will crack.
It's a delicate balance which means, " all pavement is susceptible to potholes, but we want to get the best bang for our dollars. The more dense we can make it, the better, " said Bruning.
But the biggest challenge he says is just the weather.
"At the end of the day, it's all about mother nature and that freeze, thaw cycle. All pavement is susceptible to that no matter how we build it, " said Bruning.
Bruning also stresses - if you see a pothole that needs to be repaired to make sure to let ODOT know. You can report them on ODOT's website.
You can share photos of potholes in your community here.