Minneapolis city officials say pothole repairs can't start until freeze-thaw cycle ends
MINNEAPOLIS -- Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey says we need to get to spring before finding a more permanent fix to the city's pothole problem.
But officials promise there's a plan to help bridge the gap that will cost the city an extra million dollars. It includes 250 tons of a special asphalt gravel mixture, extra overtime and weekend hours for city crews.
"If you come up to a pothole and can't swerve, you slow down enough so you can go through it and not take out your axel. I wasn't that diligent," Minneapolis resident Will Bartruff said. "I want them to fix the bloody roads. I mean, not just fix them -- repave them."
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Unfortunately, city engineers say that can't happen until we stop with the back-and-forth freeze and thaw. After that, they're promising more than 200 pothole repairs a day every day.
As for the asphalt gravel mixture, Bartruff says it is only temporary.
"It's mush. There's nothing here," Bartruff said. "This stuff just comes right off. This is their fix? I don't think so. It's a mess. It's probably going to stay a mess probably until spring."
In St. Paul, Mayor Melvin Carter proposed a 1% sales tax increase that would raise nearly a billion dollars over 20 years to fix the roads, according to the city.
The city is asking people to call 311 to report the worst potholes.