Dearborn Police Department parking lot.

DEARBORN — Grey and covered with holes, Michigan roads resemble the surface of the moon. The holes on the moon are called craters. They are caused by the collision of asteroids and comets with its surface. The holes on our roads are potholes caused by an extreme winter.

City and county officials say their employees are working relentlessly to cover the holes, which endanger drivers and harm vehicles. But they add that the problem is unlikely to be solved before winter passes.

Small residential streets are owned and maintained by the City. Main roads are owned by the county, while highways and freeways, whose names start with M, I or U.S., belong to the state. However, Wayne County is contracted to maintain most state roads in Dearborn. 

According to Cindy N. Dingell, deputy chief operating officer at Wayne County Department of Public Services, the county is responsible for 1,186 lane miles of state roads and 2,472 lane miles of primary roads.

Dingell said Wayne County construction workers have been working continuously to patch potholes, but the “vicious” weather is ripping out the patching and causing new holes.

“It looks like we’ve done nothing, even though our crews have been out patching the potholes,” she said. “We’re going to have this problem until the weather stabilizes.”

According to Dingell, the expenses of the Department of Public Services have almost doubled from last year in the first three months of the budget cycle from October to January.

On Tuesday, March 4, the Michigan House of Representatives approved a bill allocating $215 million to fixing the state’s roads. Of that amount, $100 million will be distributed to different municipalities to undo the damage inflicted by the harsh winter. The other $115 million will be spent by the state on a list of specific infrastructure projects across Michigan. 

“We have 8 road crews, 140 workers. They’ve been out constantly, working long days and overtime,” said Dingell. “But it has been an absolutely brutal winter.”

Yinger near Hemlock, Dearborn.

However, Dingell promised that potholes will not be as “relevant” on county and state roads after it stops snowing and the temperatures rise. She added that heavy traffic on Wayne County’s streets is another challenge for her department. “It’s like trying to plow the parking lot of the mall on Black Friday,” she explained.

According to the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), potholes are caused by the expansion of water under the crust of the road. 

After heavy rain or snow, water seeps under the pavement into the road’s sub-base and soil. Then, as the moisture freezes, water expands and bumps up the pavement. When the temperature rises above freezing point, the soil and sub-base go back to normal volume, leaving a gap below the raised pavement. Vehicles drive over the raised surface causing the unsupported pavement to crack and fall into the hollow space below it, creating a pothole. 

Residents can alert the Department of Public Services about potholes on county roads by calling 1-888-ROAD CREW (762-3273). Potholes on state roads should be reported online to the MDOT at //www.michigan.gov/mdot/0,1607,7-151-9615_30883_30885-69798–,00.html. Michigan Avenue (U.S.-12), Telegraph Road (U.S.-24) and Southfield Freeway (M-39) belong to the state.

Dingell said reporting potholes helps Wayne County “greatly” because the complaints go through the system directly to the road crews.

She added that the county is required by the state to cover potholes within 30 days of the time they are reported. “But we usually patch them a lot sooner,” she said.

Dingell stressed the importance of residents’ cooperation to fix the streets. She said drivers must be aware and slow down for construction workers.

“We want to plow the snow and patch the potholes, but the safety of our workers is a priority,” she said. “If you’re in the hurry to get somewhere, reckless driving is not worth killing somebody.” 

Wayne County has a $23-million summer construction plan to rehabilitate some of the damaged roads in the county. In Dearborn, Greenfield Road, from Ford Road to Warren Avenue, and Wyoming Road, from Warren to Tireman Avenue, will be repaved.

Mark Pultorak, superintendent of the Department of Public Works at the City of Dearborn, echoed Dingell’s overtone that potholes are an inevitable reality until the end of winter.

“We have about 39 people and a couple of trucks patching them,” he said. “We’re not taking a break. We’re working overtime. But there is no real solution until the spring. Some of the bad roads are scheduled to be redone.”

Pultorak added that after patching a pothole, another hole might pop next to it, and debris from the holes are staying on the streets because sweepers cannot operate on icy roads. “These roads are a mess,” he stated.

Dearborn has used 50 tons of cold patching this year, according to Pultorak. 

He said the City usually patches potholes in less than a week after they are reported. Residents should report potholes on Dearborn’s city-owned streets to the Department of Public Works by calling 313-943-2107.  

Pultorak said the department prioritizes potholes and responds to the larger ones first because they are more dangerous.

Asked what residents can do about potholes in their neighborhoods, Pultorak said, “You should phone it in, so we’re aware of the problem. There’s nothing other than that. It’s winter, and it’s Michigan.”

Ali Mandouh, a Detroit-based mechanic, said potholes can be dangerous to cars and their drivers. He added that most of his customers have had flat tires, bent rims and broken ball joints caused by the state of the roads lately.

“But most importantly, potholes can cause accidents. If the pothole hits the edge of your rim, it could pierce into the tire and blow it out. The driver would lose control over the car,” he said. “Some drivers try to avoid the potholes by swerving around them. If the road is icy, you can also lose control over your car.”

Mandouh said his business is booming  because of cars damaged by potholed. “They’re good for us and bad for everybody else,” he added. 

The state compensates drivers for damages to their cars caused by potholes on state roads. However, drivers must prove that the MDOT had been aware of the potholes 30 days prior to the accident. To file a claim for damages sustained in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb or St. Clair County, call the MDOT regional office at 248-483-5100.

“The state will consider an award only for the damages beyond what has been paid by your insurance company, and the state must have been aware of the pothole for 30 days without repairing it in order for a claim to be eligible for reimbursement.” states the MDOT website.

 Many people in the community voiced their frustration about potholes, sometimes comically, on social media. 

A Twitter user posted a photo of a big pothole in the parking lot of the Dearborn Police Station. “Welcome to Dearborn,” the caption read.

Some community members commented on Facebook that it would be easier for residents to report good roads to City and county agencies than to report potholes. 

“Potholes have a psychological impact on drivers,” said Mandouh jokingly. “When your car plunges into a pothole, you feel the pain of the car. It ruins your driving.”

Hajer AlYacoubi, a Henry Ford Community College student, said he broke the bumper of his car because of a pothole.

“I can’t begin to tell you how many accidents I dodged because drivers were trying to steer away from them. It’s just plain horrible,” he said.