MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — There are a lot of good things about warmer weather — but it can intensify potholes.
The sights, the sounds of spring are slowly peeking through. There are upsides, and some downsides, too.
Becky Musbrucker of Minneapolis spent the warmer day walking her dog with her daughter. She says potholes are a way of life.
“Yes. Every spring, yes,” Becky said.
Her daughter, Samantha Musbrucker, describes the feeling.
“You don’t really know which direction your car’s gonna go I guess, or like if the bottom of your car is gonna fall out,” Samantha said.
This duo been using their feet as transportation lately.
(credit: CBS)
“I don’t notice them as much, and probably not as much now since COVID because we’re not out as much driving,” Becky said.
But there are some out there, and there are more to come, according to Anne Meyer with the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT).
“We’re really just in the beginning phases, we’ve had a lot of the freeze, we’re just now starting to have the thaw,” Meyer said. “If we go back to freezing temperatures that’s when you’re really gonna start seeing potholes uptick.”
The way potholes come about is when water seeps in through cracks and softens the road base. When the water freezes, it expands pavement upward. Traffic adds extra stress, and warm weather dries things up, leaving a hole. Then passing cars cause the road to collapse in the hole.
MnDOT says to keep your eyes peeled, because as the air warms up, the road wear down. Click here to report potholes on highways to MnDOT. If you see a pothole on city or county road, contact your local public works department.
