Potholes in Michiana, how they form and how to report them

ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, Ind. -- With all the snow and ice finally melting off the roads you can really see and feel what the winter weather has left behind.

Water seeps through cracks and under the surface of the road.

When that water freezes, it forces the pavement to rise, but when the ice and water melts away or evaporates, the road is still left with a hole under the pavement.

The weight of the traffic overtop causes the surface to cave in and create the pothole.

All of these potholes springing up seemingly out of nowhere can be a real hassle on your drive.

Sky Medors, a St. Joseph County Engineer, says the best way to deal with a pothole is to report it, either by calling the department at (574) 235-7800 or using the SJC311 app.

Obviously don’t pull up the app while you’re driving, but it is fairly easy to report the potholes there. They’ll try and patch up the potholes as fast as possible.

No roads are given favoritism with four crews in the county working to fill the potholes that are reported. When I was going out to film this story, we actually reported the potholes near our station, and by the time I had gotten back from filming, all of them were patched.

Now again, the county is asking drivers to report the potholes and be patient with them as they try to help make our roads safer.