ANN, ARBOR, Mich. – It’s pothole season across Metro Detroit. Many roads already in disrepair only saw that problem exacerbated by snowplows this week, such as US-23, which is already a problem for drivers; Now, road work has been rescheduled by four years.
That major fix was supposed to happen in 2021. Now, drivers along this corridor seen in the video player above may have to keep suffering significant damage to their cars from road debris.
Frustration is growing among drivers who frequent US-23 near Ann Arbor.
Two weeks ago, one couple’s windshield was smashed after part of a pothole bounced up into their pickup.
Read: ‘It was huge’: Couple escapes nightmare pothole on US 23 near Ann Arbor
Damage like that seen in the video player above has an excellent chance to be covered by the state, but most claims are denied under state immunity laws.
To make matters worse, the stretch of US-23 from M-14 to I-94 isn’t slated for roadwork until 2026.
“Every winter season, we have our freeze-thaw cycle that we know well in Michigan said Stefan Arambasich. “I’ve seen chunks of road lying on the side of the road.”
Arambasich isn’t sure his car can survive another four years.
“Honestly, it needed to be fixed five years ago,” Arambasich said. “It’s just gotten to the point now where it’s bump after bump after bump.”
“We’ve had some infrastructure issues for lack of investment,” said MDOT employee Aaron Jenkins. “We’re doing our best to turn that around.”
MDOT knows work is needed, but unfortunately, drivers will have to settle for band-aids until they can schedule surgery.
“We get those messages, and we get someone out there to fix those,” Jenkins said. “We drive on the same roads, and we don’t want anything bad to happen to your cars.”