Minneapolis city officials discuss approach to fixing potholes, urge residents to report them

Minneapolis city officials detailed the city’s response to pothole problems on Tuesday and asked for residents’ help.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and city officials encouraged people to report potholes to Minneapolis Public Works by contacting 311 and providing as much detail as possible. Officials said the city prioritizes getting the worst potholes repaired first.

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“Like the mayor said, we need your help and we need folks to report those potholes. We don’t magically know where the potholes are, we need people to tell us how long the pothole is, how deep the pothole is, where the pothole is,” Minneapolis Public Works Director Margaret Anderson Kelliher said.

According to a statement from Minneapolis Public Works, the city fills potholes with temporary cold patches until they can be permanently repaired during construction season.

Frey and Anderson Kelliher said the city needs the freeze-thaw cycle to end before it can implement those permanent pothole fixes, and that’s likely to take a few more weeks.

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Anderson Kelliher and Minneapolis Transportation Maintenance & Repair Director Joe Paumen said the city will take an “all hands on deck” approach to fixing potholes and is preparing to add crews, add weekend hours and approve overtime.

According to Anderson Kelliher, the city typically spends between $1.3 million and $1.5 million on street repairs. While she noted this year’s total isn’t finalized, she said the city expects to spend an additional $1 million on street repairs this year.

Anderson Kelliher also said crews will be able to fill more than 200 potholes per day when it switches over to the more permanent fix.

Tuesday’s full news conference can be found below.