Pothole season comes early in Halifax

If the ride around town feels bumpier than usual, you're not imagining it. The Halifax Regional Municipality says pothole season has arrived early.

It's pretty bad. I haven't had to pop a tire yet, but I cross my fingers that doesn't happen. It probably will, at least to somebody, said driver Jason Cohanim.

The city said the early potholes are due to big swings in the freezing andthawing cycle.

"Potholes are dependent upon the weather. We've had a lot of rain, there's been a lot of freezing and thawing, said HRM spokeswoman Janet Bryson.

We have people that are obviously out on the roads all the time, kind of inspecting and seeing what's going on. They're keeping an eye out for potholes.

She said the cityrelies on people calling 311 to report bad patches.

Our staff will go out and take a look at it and assess whether or not it needs priority patching or if it's something that can be part of regular maintenance, Bryson said.

Potholes usually surface around the end of January, so on top of snow plowing,city crews now also have to keep an eye out for craters.

It's a mix that some residents have learned to accept.

I think we're in for the long haul this year, said Sharon Butterfield.

The city saidit will continue putting pylons next to the dangerous holesuntil crews are able to make the necessary repairs.