BRIDGEPORT -
West Virginia drivers are used to sharp turns, narrow roads and inclement weather.
Drivers deal with their fair share of potholes too.
"Before the potholes get fixed it's terrible because you have to drive like you're driving an obstacle course," said Carolyn Sirk, a driver.
Sirk said she often worries about how they're affecting her car.
"I've hit the holes where I thought 'uh oh, I probably busted a tire or something like that'," Sirk said.
Greg Phillips, District Manager for the Division of Highways, said cold, snowy weather has something to do with it.
"Because of the freeze and thaw situation. What happens is the ground freezes underneath with a lot of moisture. The moisture gets in under the asphalt when the ground freezes, just like ice in a glass of water it will expand and it pops the asphalt up," said Greg Phillips, District Manager for the Division of Highways.
It's also keeping crews from fixing them.
"Temperature needs to be 50 to 60 degrees for that asphalt to adhere to the road," Phillips said.
For extreme cases, the DOH uses a cold mix.
"Now that mix is just a temporary fix, and we try to explain that to everybody. We'll put it in and maybe two to three days later it will work its way out," Phillips said.
It also uses small rocks to fill potholes in residential and infrequently traveled roads.
"Small type of stone that we can really compact into those stones to make them stay," Phillips said.
The Division of Highways said it's more than a month behind in its pothole repairs, but once temperatures rise workers will catch up with Mother Nature.
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