GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan — Tis' the season for potholes in West Michigan.
In our Kent County neighborhood, road commission crews are busy patching potholes, hoping to prevent future damage and avoid another claim filed to the road commission.
The process is methodical but temporary. Road crews spend their days drying, cleaning, filling, and repeating the same routine across countless stretches of damaged pavement.
"Sometimes it lasts a day, sometimes it'll last a couple weeks," said Rob Koehl, a Kent County Road Commission worker.
The crew hopes to cover problem areas within two days, though there's no guarantee the patches will hold as weather conditions change.
The workload intensifies as temperatures rise. Jerry Byrne, Managing Director of Kent County Road Commission, explained the volume of calls they receive.
"We'll get 25 to 50, maybe 75 worst-case-scenario calls a day with potholes," Jerry said.
Those calls keep the county busy and create significant expenses. On 2,000 miles of roads, the county spends well over $250,000 just temporarily filling potholes.
Potholes don't just damage roads; they can put a serious dent in drivers' wallets, too. Jenelle Scheidel, owner of Kenowa Body Shop, sees the costly aftermath regularly.
"It could be as small as a tire or a rim. That's a couple hundred [dollars] up to, you know, thousands, depending on how hard the impact was," Scheidel said.
When vehicles are damaged after hitting potholes on county or state roads, drivers can file claims for reimbursement. However, both MDOT and most county road commissions warn that most damage claims are denied under government immunity laws.
The numbers tell a stark story. From January 1, 2023, to January 1, 2026, in the entire west Michigan region, MDOT approved only one repayment out of 33 claims filed. Kent, Ottawa, and Kalamazoo counties' road commissions issued zero reimbursements from 21 claims filed during the same period.
"It is a pothole, and maybe you did hit it. Maybe you did damage your car, but if we didn't know about it, we're not liable for it," Jerry said.
Under state law, the county or state must have been aware of the pothole for 30 days without repairing it for a claim to be eligible for repayment. Proving this awareness can be challenging for drivers.
The county's biggest suggestion to save time and money is simple: take your time while driving.
"If they see water ponding in the road, you think about there could be a pothole there," Jerry said.
If you spot a pothole, especially one that's causing damage, report it immediately. For dangerous potholes, call 911. You can file a claim on MDOT's website here.
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