WAKE COUNTY — Once the ice and snow melted last year, drivers were dodging potholes at every turn. This year, even without the bad weather, road craters are cropping up because of the changing temperatures.

State Department of Transportation(DOT) crews are up to their asphalt trucks in potholes.

"Running four crews daily, sometimes we have to run additional crews doing cold patch and stuff to keep up with them," says DOT engineer Jerry Linder. "It's a constant problem for us with the amount of roads that we have."

The DOT pothole patchers have as much as they can handle, but the engineers are working on ideas to save time and tax dollars. They are talking about preventative maintenance.

"Let's say the road's been resurfaced one year. Three years later, you come put some sort of seal treatment on top of it, and it extends the life of it a little bit longer," Linder says.

The DOT's budget is already stretched to the limit. Treating roads to stop potholes before they start is probably years down the road. For now, they will keep doing it the old fashioned way.

However, there is one change. The DOT has a new emphasis on road maintenance instead of road construction.

"There's been a lot of money been put into construction, and we need construction," Linder says. "We also need to maintain what we have out here to keep our name as the Good Roads state."

If you need a pothole filled and you live inside the city limits, you can call your city's road maintenance department. For all other locations statewide, you can call the DOT Helpline at1-877-DOT4YOU.