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City's Pothole-Filling Crews Start Weekend, Overnight Repair Work

CHICAGO (CBS/STMW) -- Crews will work every day this winter in Chicago's streets and alleys to fill potholes made worse by last week's winter wallop of snow and record-cold temperatures.

Pothole-filling crews from the city's Department of Transportation will be on the street seven days a week, working extra hours earlier than usual this year in an effort to repair roadway holes and pits, Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a statement Friday.

Some of the 22 CDOT pothole repair crews started working throughout the weekend and overnight Friday, one week earlier than they did in 2013, according to the statement.

"All city departments are working to ensure our roadways are safe, and this includes repairing the many potholes that formed as a result of the 23 inches of snow we've had this year and the bitter cold temperatures earlier this week," Emanuel said in the statement. "City workers have done a tremendous job plowing and salting streets and making pothole repairs in all neighborhoods to keep Chicago moving."

Workers have already filled more than 15,000 potholes across the city this year, using more than 330 tons of patching material, the statement said.

But, after a deep freeze and record-cold temperatures descended on the Chicago area Sunday night, crews have their work cut out for them.

The city repaired more than 625,000 roadway potholes in 2013, according to the statement.

Crews in Indiana are also working to repair roadways plagued with potholes.

CBS 2's Suzanne Le Mignot reports the shoulder of northbound Cline Avenue is transformed into a tire repair shop. This is what Felicia Walker's tire looks like, after hitting a pothole here.

"It's frustrating. I've got my grand-babies in the car. Got to get my tire fixed," said motorist Felicia Walker.

Indiana Department of Transportation workers say they've been working nonstop filling these menacing mini craters.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2014. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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