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Spring thaw brings new round of potholes in Michigan
Potholes aren’t sudden defects, but the end result of a sustained structural failure. Water infiltrates the asphalt, freezes and expands, then contracts as it thaws, creating internal fissures. Over time, that repeated stress fractures the pavement from within, and traffic delivers the final blow. Then we’re left with these gaping holes causing issues for drivers. MDOT has a total annual budget of about $6.5 billion to $7.5 billion. Roughly 20% of non-winter maintenance goes to potholes.
DETROIT (FOX 2) - With the arrival of spring in Michigan, the roads have begun to reveal what winter has been quietly unraveling.
Big picture view:
Potholes aren’t sudden defects, but the end result of a sustained structural failure. Water infiltrates the asphalt, freezes and expands, then contracts as it thaws, creating internal fissures. Over time, that repeated stress fractures the pavement from within, and traffic delivers the final blow.
Then we’re left with these gaping holes causing issues for drivers. MDOT has a total annual budget of about $6.5 billion to $7.5 billion. Roughly 20% of non-winter maintenance goes to potholes.
Crews are taking advantage of the recent warmer and drier weather to patch potholes across Metro Detroit.
There is a bigger story behind the bumps in the road: who is responsible and how much it is really costing?
By the numbers:
Across the state, about 400,000 potholes on state roads alone will be filled, while counties and cities handle local streets. The average fix for pothole damage to cars is around $600 per hit.
FOX 2 found one woman in exactly that predicament on Friday.
"It was a pothole with a brick sticking up out of it, and I hit it, or tried to miss it because I had traffic on both sides and in order to not hit them, it caught my back tire and damaged my whole rim and everything," she said.
Nationally, the price tag is far higher.
Potholes cost U.S. drivers a staggering $26.5 billion in vehicle repairs in a single year.
Here’s the reprieve:
Recent investment has helped rebuild major freeways like I-75 and I-696, but local roads, which depend on city and county funding, are still catching up and often in worse condition.
The long-term cost is steep. Experts estimate it would take about $2 billion a year to bring Michigan roads into good condition statewide.