BATON ROUGE — Potholes are appearing more frequently on local roads following last week's rain, and city crews are working to keep up with repairs.

Experts say this kind of increase is common during the summer.

For Baton Rouge resident Stephen Nichols, the potholes have become a regular part of the drive. He says avoiding them isn't always easy, whether on neighborhood streets or major roads.

"There are a lot of potholes, and sometimes it rattles my new car, and I'm thinking it's going to rattle it apart because of the potholes," Nichols said.

"Because that becomes dangerous when you have to drive around it and you have to drive into the other lane so it's really kind of dangerous," he said.

William Daniel from the mayor's office explained how potholes form. "Well, a pothole is when a portion of the road, the top portion, breaks up and leaves a hole down to the base of the street," Daniel said.

Daniel says water from heavy rain can seep into cracks in the pavement. As vehicles continue driving over those weakened areas, potholes can form more quickly.

For drivers, that can mean a rough ride and potential damage to their vehicles. "I'd describe them as being really awful because it's hard to steer around them because the lanes are narrow and you have to go through them," Nichols said.

The city says crews are working to address the problem. "We're taking care of them pretty much as fast as we're getting called in," Daniel said.

Residents who spot a pothole can report it to the city's Pothole Posse by dialing 311.