With spring approaching, there is one thing on drivers’ minds.

Potholes.

Joseph Shortill said he was driving along Mussey Road in Scarborough when “bam.”

The jarring bump in the road knocked his Honda out of gear, and when Shortill took the car to the dealership, he had to shell out for an alignment.

“I didn’t even see it,” Shortill, of Waterboro, said of the pothole. “I really hit hard.”

So did three other drivers, who Shortill said were pulled over in a nearby parking lot dealing with flat tires and bent rims.

Scarborough Police responded to multiple calls in that area Wednesday night, Scarborough Police Sgt. Steve Thibodeau said. It was the first report he is aware of involving damage to vehicles that hit a pothole in Scarborough so far this year.

“Potholes this time of year are very common,” Thibodeau said. He encouraged drivers to alert authorities if their vehicle is disabled after a pothole encounter.

Nicole Clegg, spokeswoman for the city of Portland, said the Public Services Department has been fielding calls about the growing number of potholes on a daily basis.

“We have crews out every day filling potholes with temporary patches,” Clegg said, but complicating the process is the weather. “The real challenge we have right now is the freeze-thaw (cycle).”

Maine Department of Transportation spokesman Mark Latti expects road conditions to worsen with the warmer temperatures and rain that the state saw over the weekend.

“Water seeping in (holes and cracks), freezing and refreezing, creates the potholes, which are only made larger as people travel over them,” Latti said.

Just as drivers slow down in snow and ice conditions, Latti recommends people take their time traveling the roads throughout spring. If potholes are spotted or hit along state roads, he said drivers can call the MDOT regional office. On local roads, drivers should notify the municipalities they are in.

“We’ll send a crew out to repair the pothole as soon as possible,” Latti said. “Pothole patching is an ongoing battle this time of year. The holes that are patched invariably open up later.”

If damage is incurred, Latti said, the state is not liable. He said local laws vary, but most municipalities are also not liable — provided they fill a hole within 24 hours.

In addition to reporting the pothole to police Wednesday night, Shortill complained to Scarborough and state officials Thursday. By Friday morning, the pothole was filled, but Latti said the temporary patches are just that — temporary.

“Once the temperatures do warm up, we can do a longer-lasting repair,” he said, but before then, “we do expect to receive more calls.”

Staff Writer Emma Bouthillette can be contacted at 791-6325 or at:

ebouthillette@pressherald.com