New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) Acting Commissioner Jim Simpson joined the agency’s road crews on Route 46 in Teterboro today to kick off the springtime pothole repair season.

The commissioner is closely monitoring the condition of New Jersey roadways and joined pothole-repair crews on the job to emphasize the importance of this task.

“Filling potholes is a year-round safety priority at NJDOT, but the job intensifies each spring when the weather helps create large numbers of these road hazards,” Simpson said in a press statement.“With hundreds of our employees on patrol and motorists reporting potholes to us, we will tackle this perennial problem in a timely manner.”

NJDOT pothole repair crews are fanning out statewide as workers make permanent repairs to what is expected to be a bumper crop of potholes this year due to the unusually harsh winter weather.

Commissioner Simpson encouraged motorists to report potholes online at http://www.state.nj.us/transportation or by calling 1-800-POTHOLE.