The winter weather and melting snow will be wreaking havoc on the roads in Suffolk as the temperatures start to rise.

“The winter and spring months are the worst for us,” said L.J. Hansen, assistant director of Public Works.  “The water from the snow gets down in the asphalt and it does what we call a ‘freeze-thaw,’ and it expands. When the water gets down in the pavement, it starts to bust.”

Potholes are not only a nuisance but also unsafe to drivers. It’s best to avoid them, because one never knows how deep they are, but swerving to avoid them can cause a new set of problems on the road, Hansen said.

The city has three options for citizens to report any potholes on the road. Drivers can call the city’s operations line at 514-7600, fill out a form on the city’s website or use an application on their phone.

Residents of Suffolk can download an app on their phone called Suffolk Citizens Connections. On the app, the driver can report the location of the pothole, by address or by geo-locating it, and add photos or descriptions. Adding as much specific information as possible helps the department address the concern, Hansen said.

Once the driver has reported the information, it will alert the Public Works department of the pothole.

“We try to address them as quickly as possible, within 72 hours barring any weather or other reasons that would stop us from fixing it,” Hansen said.

The Public Works department takes potholes seriously, and the department is as proactive as possible to ensure safe roadways for drivers, Hansen said.

“We put down 55 lane miles of new fresh asphalt and we do roughly 40 to 60 lane miles a year. We are trying very hard to have roads that are going to hold up,” Hansen said.