How the city, and you, can prevent pothole damage

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - They’re back. And they’re everywhere... Already.

Last week’s blizzard dumped over a foot of snow on Sioux Falls. The warming temperatures that have melted it the last several days have yielded plenty of new potholes all over the city.

The city street division fixes over 5,000 potholes a year, but on Monday, only one crew was filling the craters, while the rest were still removing snow.

This has all meant a perfect storm for local auto body shops.

Fred Dirkson, the owner of Don’s Auto Body on 26th and Cliff Ave., said a nearby pothole blew out a tire of one customer.

“This winter has been unprecedented in my career,” said Evan Kendt, the co-owner of Marv’s Body Shop. “We’ve seen more accidents, fender benders, just more damaged cars throughout the city than I’ve ever seen.”

Potholes tear apart tires, wheels and car suspensions, Kendt said. This can all cost thousands of dollars.

Sioux Falls street operations manager Dustin Hansen said the city plans on prioritizing pothole filling once snow removal is done. By then, six to seven crews will be smoothing out the bumps. But they can’t fill them all at once.

There are a couple ways the public can limit danger and damage — Safer driving and reporting the potholes.

Once you hit one, remember where it was, and avoid it the next time you drive down that same road, Dirkson said.

“The biggest thing is the speed. Everybody in Sioux Falls is going to be hitting some potholes in the next month or two months,” Kendt said. “The faster you hit the pothole, the more damage you could do to your car.

”If you hit that pothole going 5 of 10 miles an hour as opposed to 25 or 30 miles per hour, you’re going to mitigate the damage that you do, or not do any damage at all. Biggest thing is paying attention to the road in front of you.”

Once you see a pothole, there are three ways to report it:

* Call the city pothole hotline at (605) 367-8002.

* Download the City of Sioux Falls app, and find the place to report it there.

* Report it on this website

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