County road officials ask for help identifying problematic potholes

KSTP Staff KSTP
Road repair crews fill potholes.

It is once again pothole repair season, and your help is needed in identifying areas that need attention from road crews.

With thousands of miles of roadways to monitor, Hennepin County officials are asking drivers to let them know where potholes can be found on county roads.

County officials say roads they monitor can be referred to by their number designation or local names. CLICK HERE to find roads maintained by Hennepin County, and CLICK HERE to report a problem on those roadways. You can also call 612-596-0299 to report a problem.

Hennepin County isn’t the only one relying on motorists to report road problems — Dakota, Ramsey, and Wright counties also have ways of reporting potholes. Follow the links below to report issues to the appropriate counties:

The Minnesota Department of Transportation, which is responsible for fixing potholes on state highways and interstates, says you should contact your city or county if a pothole is on one of their roadways. A map showing those roadways can be found by CLICKING HERE.

To report potholes on state highways, CLICK HERE.

You can find city websites for the entire state by CLICKING HERE, and county websites by CLICKING HERE.

For crews in Minneapolis, they’re in the midst of what they call the “Pothole blitz” – filling as many holes as they can with asphalt. They plan to switch to a more fixed-fit this summer.

“When we do permanent repairs, what we like to see is a lot more cleaning of the pothole, [then] we apply an asphalt cement and then we’re able to do the permanent repair,” said Gary Long, supervisor with Minneapolis Public Works.

Those potholes are more than an annoyance – they can also be costly. Youngstedts says drivers have already started coming in because of damage caused by potholes.

“It’s anywhere from suspension work to wheel and tire repair,” Scott Tuttle, store manager with Youngstedts, said.

“[Total cost] could [be] thousands of dollars just to fix something like that. And, because tires now are so expensive, we’re going to check the alignment for free.”

In the tweet below, 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS reporter Andrea Lyon – back for her first pothole season since moving from Florida – told followers she’s worried about her car. Lyon wrote she “forgot how serious pothole season can really be.”

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS reporter Ben Henry will have additional information about this Thursday evening.