MoDOT trying to fill all potholes by end of March

State highway crews in Southeast Missouri plan an all-out assault on potholes this month in an effort to eliminate the bumpy ride plaguing motorists.

Scott Meyer, Missouri Department of Transportation district engineer in Sikeston, Mo., said crews already have started the work. "We would like to get all of the potholes filled by the end of the month," he said on Monday.

Meyer couldn't calculate how many potholes there are. But with almost 4,000 miles of state-maintained roads in a 14-county area, there are a lot of them to fill, he said.

He said his office plans to keep track of the repair work. The public will be able to keep track of the work too via MoDOT's Web site at www.modot.state.mo.us, he said.

"It's been a terrible winter," he said. The repeated freezing and thawing and the snow storms have created numerous potholes, he said.

Meyer said he has made the pothole patching a top priority in the district and that it will draw money away from other road projects, some of which will have to be delayed until the next fiscal year.