USA Today BLUEPRINT Ranks State Among Worst for Pothole Pandemonium

(KNSI) — You know it. I know it. And so does everybody else who travels on Minnesota roads. They are full of potholes. Now, USA Today BLUEPRINT has officially ranked Minnesota as one of the worst states for pothole problems.

Driving in spring may seem like a game of Mario Kart, but instead of swerving around banana peels and oil slicks, it’s dodging gouges and craters in the road that can cause hundreds of dollars in damage to your very real vehicle.

Potholes form when water gets into a cracked road surface and then freezes. That ice expands and makes new cracks, and then the road crumbles altogether.

Data for the study was collected through Google Trends from 2020 to 2023 using searches for pothole-related terms. Terms include pothole, pothole damage, and pothole repair. Each term is given a weight from zero to 100, which was used to figure out a score for each state.

Minnesota’s index was 63.5, compared to Washington’s 69.25 came in second behind Washington state. Michigan was third with 60.75.

According to a recent AAA survey, the average cost of most pothole-related repairs is $406. Even worse, hitting a pothole – or taking the wrong measures to avoid one – could cause a crash and personal injuries.

Granite City Tire and Auto General Manager Jesse Nelson tells KNSI News it doesn’t take much to damage a vehicle. “Even if it’s not the biggest pothole, or if you don’t hit it like super hard to where all of a sudden your vehicle starts shaking immediately afterwards, or your steering wheel is off center. You can damage tires and the wheels themselves very easily. It’s also very hard on suspension components.”

He says to pay attention to how your car is driving after hitting potholes. “If you notice that your vehicle is driving differently, maybe it’s pulling one way, the steering wheel is not straight, you’re getting a shake. It is a really good idea to get the vehicle in so we can get it up on a hoist and inspect the front end.”

Nelson tells drivers to avoid hitting a pothole whenever they can and slow down as much as they can if they can’t avoid one. He suggests if you blow a tire, get your spare on and bring your vehicle to a shop as soon as possible.

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