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Pothole Season Starts Early In Boston

BOSTON (CBS) - It's beginning to look a lot like springtime on local roads.

Pothole season has been ushered in by earlier-than-usual snowmelt seeping into cracks, then freezing, expanding, and melting again.

The cycle has pavement giving way to craters. It also has road crews doing the tricky job of temporarily filling holes with a cold weather patch mix in live traffic.

Potholes
Pothole in Boston (WBZ-TV)

"I see them out there all the time every day," says truck driver Kevin Libby. "They're trying to keep up."

What's bad for drivers is great for a tire technician. "Doctors have people getting sick, accountants need taxes, I need people to bend wheels," says Rob Shannon, of Wheel Solutions in Allston.

Tire damaged
Tire and rim damaged by pothole in Boston (WBZ-TV)

"It's early, but when you get the weather we've had…it's damaging."

As he spoke, a customer walked in. "Front tire just popped, made a big dent," said Victor Calzada. Shannon replaced his spare with a newly welded repaired wheel.

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