DETROIT – With another cold Michigan winter underway, Metro Detroit drivers are already running into one of the season’s most familiar frustrations: potholes.
Typically, the heaviest pothole season doesn’t arrive until the end of March or early April. But road crews and public service teams across Metro Detroit say complaints are already coming in this year -- and they’re trying to get ahead of the problem.
“As the temperatures have risen, we are starting to see some potholes pop up. We are now in pothole season, today, in Wayne County,” said Scott Cabauatan, Deputy Director of Public Services for Wayne County, Michigan.
On a recent dry, sunny day, county crews, local road service teams and public works staff were out in force, using the window of good weather to patch trouble spots before they worsen.
The concern: small cracks and early-stage potholes can quickly grow into major hazards after snow, road salt, and repeated freeze-thaw cycles.
“The water freezes. It expands, and then when it thaws out, then it creates the potholes,” Cabauatan explained. “And that’s what we are doing today — we are addressing those potholes that have formed.”
Wayne County crews spent Monday patrolling and patching along corridors such as Six Mile, looking for anything from larger holes to small cracks that could expand.
“What the crew is doing today is they are finding a couple of potholes that maybe are a little larger sized, but they are also filling in some of the cracks and smaller ones so they don’t become a bigger pothole,” Cabauatan said.
In Oakland County, a caravan from the Road Commission was busy along Woodward Avenue, identifying, patching and filling potholes as well.
Across the region, county and city road service teams, including in Detroit, say they have crews out daily monitoring and repairing streets.
Officials are urging residents to report potholes and other road hazards when they see them, so crews can respond more quickly.
They’re also reminding drivers to slow down and give workers extra room when passing repair operations.
“We may not always see you, so give us the benefit of the doubt,” Cabauatan said. “Make sure that it’s safe to pass. Just watch out for our folks, because we want to make sure they get home.”
In a statement, City of Detroit Director of Public Works Rob Brundidge said the city’s street maintenance crews are actively responding to pothole reports:
“Detroit DPW’s Street Maintenance Division has crews out daily repairing potholes. Weather permitting, potholes are repaired within 3 days of requests being entered into Improve Detroit. The city’s heavy pothole repair season is generally following the freeze and thaw of winter, beginning around end of March, early April.”
For now, though, that season appears to be arriving early -- and Metro Detroit’s road crews are trying to stay one step ahead.
For information on reporting potholes in Detroit, visit the city’s official website, or complaints can be filed on the Improve Detroit app.
Residents in Oakland County can report pothole problems online here.
Road hazards in Wayne County can be reported by calling 1-888-ROAD CREW, or 1-888-762-3273. For more information, click here.