The good news: winter is slowly melting into spring.

The bad news: that means mud season is not far behind.

In a seasonal newsletter, the Maine Local Roads Center, a division of the Maine Department of Transportation, warns drivers that if they thought the broken and cracked roads were bad now, there’s a chance things could get worse.

Thawing frost and rainfall could further weaken roads, the MLRC warns, or could buckle from the weight of trucks and heavy vehicles. Communities are urged to post such roads just before the thaw and keep the signs up until just after the thaw ends.

Such proactive arrangements not only protect the roads that are susceptible to further breaking, they protect the drivers who use the roads.

Get more information about posted roads here.