BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Western New Yorkers know all too well how potholes impact drivers throughout the region.
I spoke with auto shop owners about the impact on vehicles and Buffalo leaders on pothole promises made by Mayor Sean Ryan throughout his campaign.
"Some of these potholes are pretty nasty," Nelson Nirelli said.
Since 1980, Nelson Nirelli has driven to his auto repair shop on Main Street in Buffalo.
"45 years of driving this road every day here and every day home," Nirelli said. "Main Street is terrible."
With Tuesday's break in the weather, the signs of another looming pothole season were hard to miss — both on the roads and in Nelson's shop.
"Somebody hit a pothole, and the rim cracked," Nirelli said.
Nelson says that although his yearly rush of pothole-damaged vehicles is likely still a few weeks off, customers are already starting to trickle in.
"Once the weather breaks like it is now and it's starting to get a little bit of warm up, that's when the potholes rear their heads," Nirelli said.
WATCH: Buffalo crews tackle pothole season as Mayor Ryan promises proactive approach
Nolan Skipper, the City of Buffalo's Commissioner of Public Work says that even after the recent stretch of bitter cold, he's anticipating the usual challenges with potholes.
"I don't think it will be anything much different than the last couple of years," Skipper said.
I caught up with DPW crews out on pothole patrol on Fillmore Avenue on Tuesday.
"We've been out and about a few times this year," Skipper said. "With this warmer weather, it really starts to hold a lot better instead of emergency locations. Now we're in full-on blitz mode."
Skipper tells me potholes are a priority for Mayor Sean Ryan's administration.
"There's no doubt. I've talked to the mayor about it, talked with the deputy mayor, making sure that the hot patch is in place, making sure we're coming out strong with a paving season, so we're not just relying on cold patch year after year," Skipper said.
WATCH: What's the anatomy of a pothole?
Skipper tells me that under Mayor Ryan, the city will use a three-pronged approach, including the use of a hot patch, which he says is not typically used on city streets.
"So once we get a little bit warmer weather, we'll start dipping into the hot patch instead of just cold patching, and obviously, the big thing is paving," Skipper said. "So for hot patching and paving that'll help with cold patching and potholes down the line."
If you live in Buffalo and want to report a pothole problem, you are asked to call 311. Skipper says they will try to address issues within 48 hours.
As for longstanding pothole issues along Main Street, Skipper tells me, "I'm happy to announce we did just bid out a large project on Main Street all the way from Goodell to Kensington. So we'll start a full-on reconstruction of the street curbside, walks and then finish with paving. I know that's been a stretch since I've been in the city, that I get calls on probably the most out of any street."
