The city will continue to furlough workers who fill potholes rather than go full-strength in the war against craters, officials said.

The Daily News reported Monday that 555 Department of Transportation road repairers have been directed to stay home one day every two weeks in the first quarter of this year – a cost-cutting move that had drivers honking mad.

That translates into 22,000 fewer manpower hours this year than if the department was fully deployed against the bumper crop of craters.

While the furloughs are saving $1 million, according to the DOT, potholes are indeed being filled at a slower pace than last year.

Last month, it took on average 3.65 days to fill a pothole – compared with 1.42 days during the previous January, said DOT spokesman Seth Solomonow.

He maintained that total manpower hours during the 10-week stretch in which furloughs are in effect is on par with last year, since 50 seasonal highway repairers moved to year-round posts.

And since the December snowstorm, more than 45,000 potholes have been filled.

A spokesman for Mayor Bloomberg insisted the department is being more productive despite the furloughs.

“They are managing the reduced resources and still getting more done, with more potholes filled compared to last year,” spokesman Marc La Vorgna said, adding that these cuts to basic services are “a trend you will see increasingly” if the city doesn’t get relief from Albany on pension costs and other mandates.

Callers to 311 might be alarmed when operators say that potholes will be filled within 30 days, but that’s from the city’s longstanding script, officials said.

It can, though, take longer than a few days to fix craters that are reported as potholes but turn out to be bigger problems like sinkholes or damage left by utility crews, Solomonow said.

Drivers, meanwhile, continued to fume about road conditions.

“I just came across town and there are potholes all over the streets,” Morton Dowdy, 45, of Brooklyn, said from the cab of his small delivery truck in midtown.

“I’m talking serious potholes that could break your axle. It’s dangerous.”

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(Source: NY Daily News)