Pothole Season Is Starting Early This Year In Minnesota

The picture may be a slight exaggeration but I swear, it feels like it's that big sometimes. Some people may think I'm drunk when I'm driving on certain streets in St Cloud, actually, I'm just trying to avoid potholes that have opened up.

Pothole season is starting a bit early this year. With a warmer than usual January and much colder weather coming, a pothole epidemic is sure to be on the way.

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If you are not watching for them, they will get you every time. I dread the ones that feel like it bent the entire front end of your car. There are currently plenty of these treacherous potholes out there and the bad news is there are more to come.

Anne Meyer of the Minnesota Department of Transportation says we are just seeing the beginning of pothole season. “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.” And frigid temps are coming this weekend.

MnDOT is expecting pothole damage claims to pick up soon. If your car or truck has suffered damage due to a pothole, check out this link for information on filing a claim with MnDOT.

What causes these annoying jolts in the road is when warmer temps cause some melting, water seeps into cracks in the road. The water underneath then freezes pushing the pavement up. Traffic over these spots will make the road collapse into the pothole.

MnDOT could use your help in knowing where the potholes are, so they can fill them as soon as possible. You can call 651-266-9700  or click here to email a pothole location.

Fun Fact: The term "pothole" dates back a couple of centuries. Streets in most European cities had streets of clay. When it would rain hard, people would dig clay out of the street to make clay pots. Thus leaving a pothole.