Chicago adding road crew workers to fill potholes

Chicago is stepping up its efforts to fill the many potholes formed during an especially cold winter.

The Chicago Department of Transportation announced Saturday it's adding six more road crews. The increased workforce is expected to fill an additional 1,500 potholes each day starting next month.

The additional crews are made up of seasonal workers who usually repave streets during the summer months.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel says the extreme cold temperatures made it necessary to add more workers. He says filling potholes formed during the winter season is a safety measure.

Chicago road crews filled 625,000 potholes throughout the city last year. They're ahead of that pace in 2014.

With the additional workforce, the city will have nearly 30 road crews on the streets at a time.