A crew from the state Department of Transportation patches potholes Tuesday morning along Route 19 in Cranberry Township.

PennDOT crews have been burning the midnight oil in Cranberry Township this week, in an effort to patch potholes on heavily-traveled roads.

According to Mike Mattis, PennDOT’s Butler County maintenance manager, pothole patching has been ongoing in recent days as crews take advantage of mild temperatures and clear skies. However, they have still had to battle traffic on heavily traveled roads, including Routes 19 and 228 in the southwest portion of the county.

Because of that, a crew has been starting their shift at midnight and working until the first rush hour of the day at about 6 a.m. on Route 19.

“We got the majority of 19 done in three days,” Mattis said. “By hitting the main roads at night, we’re trying to get a lot tackled.”

During daytime hours, crews switch their attention to secondary roads, such as Franklin and Callery roads, as well as others across the county. For now, they’re using “cold patch” asphalt, which does not require heat or heavy equipment to adhere to the pothole. While that fixes issues for now, Mattis said more work will need to be done once the weather warms even more.

“We regularly cold patch, but that tends to pop back out,” he said. “Once we can use the hot mix, we can mill out those potholes and patch them.”

Mattis said this winter’s freeze-and-thaw cycle has led to an increase in potholes throughout the county.

“We’ve seen them appear in places we haven’t in the past,” he said.

He added that crews will continue to split time responding to weather-related issues and patching roads.

“Sometimes with rain, slips and washout, you have to have a balancing act,” he said, adding the department continues to benefit from running two shifts throughout the winter. “We’re trying to get to as many concerns from the public as we can and trying to cover the whole county.”