Drivers complain as pothole season begins

Road crews across the state are on the lookout for potholes.

This time of year, fluctuating temperatures and snow removal can cause breaks in pavement that can damage tires and suspension.

Mike Kennedy of the Minneapolis Department of Public Works says some motorists report "tented" pavement, meaning the evenly spaced ridges on some highways that drivers are bumping along over.

"In the winter time there's really nothing that can be done. There's no sort of permanent repair that happens in the winter time," Kennedy said. "All that can happen is if it does collapse and turn into a pothole we can throw temporary mix in there. The same thing we do with any other pothole."

Kennedy says the ridges form when water gets in the joints between concrete slabs. That water freezes, expands, and causes the ridges. He says the ridges often sink on their own when the weather warms.