KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As Kansas City braces for another winter storm this weekend, drivers are also preparing for an inconvenient side effect that can cause headaches for many: potholes.
"They’re excessive this time of year," Paul Nash said Thursday.
The pesky potholes are popping up all over the Kansas City metro area.
The bumpy roads have made Nash change how he gets around.
"I’ll even change my route at times," he said.
Other drivers try to stay clear of potholes at all costs.
"I have hit one, but if I know they are on the right-hand side of Wornall (Road), I drive down the middle lane," Jim Schaible said.
Kansas City crews have been patching potholes since Saturday's snowstorm. They are the same crews who will plow the streets once the next snowstorm arrives on Friday night.
"We’re out there today doing some potholes because we’re not doing any snow removal, but it’s just a vicious cycle," KCMO Assistant Public Works Director Greg Bolon said at a news conference Thursday.
Crews are now working 12-hour shifts ahead of the next storm. They won't patch all of the potholes on the streets because moisture makes the process more difficult.
"One issue you have with potholes is trying to get the hole dried out to put something in it that will last," Bolon said.
As a result, drivers in Kansas City should be ready for another round of snow — and another round of potholes.
"Potholes are going to continue to come and get worse and worse and worse," Bolon said.
Many other area cities are waiting to patch potholes until the next snowstorm arrives.
