By Olivia Scheck
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — City drivers who find themselves waylaid by potholes may have budget cuts to blame, the New York Daily News reported.
The time it takes the Department of Transportation to fix potholes has nearly tripled, from an average of 2.1 days to 6.1 days, since 2007 due in part to furloughs for the city's road repairers, the News said.
Roughly 600 road repairers are being forced to take a day off every two weeks during the first quarter of 2011, under a deal that is expected to save the department $1 million, according to the paper.
DOT spokesman Seth Solomonow told the paper that the department's pothole response, claiming that the number of craters filled has actually increased by 12 percent compared to the same period last year.
But potholes, which have been exasperated by recent snowfall, continue to be a problem for drivers and perhaps pedestrians, according to the News.
