INDIANAPOLIS — Now that road crews are done clearing the winter weather they get to turn their attention to what it’s left behind — potholes.

They’re popping up everywhere. Data from the Indianapolis Department of Public Works shows the agency has had nearly two thousand potholes reported to them so far this month. They had just 300 reports the months before.  

The agency’s pothole tracking map shows more than two thousand that are still waiting to be repaired.

“It starts with a crack in the road that can be from aging, general wear and tear, traffic, freezing and thawing,” said Megan DeLucenay with the Indiana Department of Transportation.

Potholes are also a headache for INDOT which is charged with maintaining the state’s vast network of highways. DeLucenay said winter is the prime time for potholes.

“The moisture gets into those cracks, it freezes, expands under the pavement and when it melts it leaves kind of a void,” DeLucenay explained. “So when you get traffic going over and over it every day that can kind of create some potholes.”

She says anytime INDOT crews aren’t out responding to weather events, like they were earlier this week, they’re doing mainly pothole repairs.

“Especially during construction season we are doing chip sealing projects, we are doing repaving projects,” DeLucenay said. “Kind of checking up on those roads making sure that they’re good to go.”

But DeLucenay and DPW said they can’t tackle the problems alone.

“If you see a pothole on a numbered state road or interstate, let us know,” DeLucenay said. “We can’t fix it if we don’t know it’s there.”

DPW has an online portal where people can submit the location of a pothole to have it repaired. 

INDOT has something similar and DeLucenay said it’s monitored 24/7.

“It will create a ticket and that will go to the correct maintenance department,” DeLucenay said. “They’ll get out there and then they’ll fix it as soon as possible.”

With the state still being the midst of winter, repairs are more difficult. However, once spring and summer roll around INDOT said they can ramp up their efforts.

To report a pothole on a highway, you can file a report with INDOT here.

For Indianapolis streets, you can report a pothole with DPW here.