As of February, the county's Roads and Bridges Department has used about 61 tons of cold asphalt mix to fill about 1,200 potholes on county roads, said Cliff Harden, director of the department.
The department has spent roughly $50,000 collectively to fill potholes this year.
Last year, the county used 140 tons of cold asphalt mix to fill 2,800 potholes, which cost about $100,000.
Harden said the weather late last year was a factor in the number of potholes the county saw.
"The past fall and winter have been especially damaging to our roads," he said. "After the flood in September, we had a very wet season that did not allow time for the roads and bases to dry."
The county and the cities do not provide maintenance on state routes and Interstate 575, as those roads are maintained by the Georgia Department of Transportation.
Potholes occur when the asphalt pavement breaks and comes apart, Harden said. Traffic on the road exacerbate the problem area and causes pieces to pop out.
Other causes include trucks traveling on roads not designed to carry a heavy load, poor or lack of drainage, which allows the road bed to become saturated, freezing or thawing and poor or lack of road sub-grade.
"Many county roads were merely dirt roads that were paved over and have no sub-grade or base," Harden said.
The September flooding was magnified by low temperatures during the day and had sub-freezing temperatures at night.
The frozen water, he said, pushes up beneath the ground, which breaks the pavement. When the areas thaw, they collapse and break under traffic and can break apart.
"These freezing and thawing cycles are extremely damaging to our roads," he said.
The weather has also been treacherous for the city of Woodstock. Last year, the city repaired 37 potholes. They have already repaired 32 potholes this year.
Public Works Director Pat Flood said several of the city's potholes have been weather-related. Roads that were already in need of repair, such as Arnold Mill Road, seemed to suffer the worst, he added.
"We've got quite a few on there," he said of Arnold Mill.
Flood said the city spent $850 on repairing potholes last year and have so far spent $780 this year. The amount spent depends on the severity of the pothole, Flood added.
The weather has also been rough on roads in the city of Ball Ground, said City Manager Eric Wilmarth. Wilmarth said there are two areas on Cherokee Village Drive and three areas on Valley Street the city needs to address.
On Cherokee Village Drive, water between the top and bottom layer of the asphalt caused both layers to break away from each other. Water damage on Valley Street is causing some soft spots in three separate areas.
Last year, he said, the city spent between $7,000 and $8,000 on pothole repair. Wilmarth said he estimated the repairs this year will be between $45,000 and $50,000.
"These are definitely weather-related," he said, noting the city has had road problems in the past, but nothing of this magnitude.
Canton last year repaired 177 potholes and has repaired 114 so far this year, said Street Maintenance Supervisor David Cangemi.
"There's definitely wear and tear on some of the roads," Cangemi said.
Cangemi said the city's hardest hit area has been on Hickory Flat Highway between Marietta Road and the I-575 junction. The city has spent $5,000 to fill potholes this year, he added.
Cangemi said he did not have last year's figure on hand.
He said he knows the city has other potholes that need to be filled, but said the department can only fix the roads as the money comes in.
"We're trying really hard to get to the worst ones," he said, adding the city has had pothole problems due to older roads.
The city of Waleska only has four streets inside its limits and uses funds from the Georgia Department of Transportation's Local Assistance Road Program to maintain the roads, said City Clerk Debbie McIntyre.
McIntyre said all of the city streets are "in standard or above standard condition."
So far, Nelson hasn't had any potholes reported on its streets this year, said City Clerk Brandy Edwards. Mrs. Edwards added the city also didn't have any potholes in 2009.
Aside from Waleska and Nelson, Holly Springs has had the smallest amount of potholes found on its roads.
Last year, the city repaired 15 potholes. This year, they've only filled four, said Public Works Director Chris Keown.
Keown also said the potholes formation have been weather related.
"Last year, the rainfall added so much water," he said, noting in previous years the county had sunny, drier weather. "The rains had much more affect than the cold temperature, I believe."
Keown said the city last year averaged between $15 and $20 on each pothole it filled with a cold asphalt mix and said has been the same for this year.
Keown added his staff is constantly checking the roads for problem areas.
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