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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It’s Kansas City’s least favorite time of year — pothole season. You may feel some drops and bumps driving around KC roads. But what can you do if your tire pops or you see damage?

Potholes are a pain for everyone but the city says filling them is only a patch on the problem. Maggie Green with Kansas City, Missouri’s Public Works Department said last year they doubled the budget to resurface roads which will help stop potholes before they start.

“Pothole season is here. It’s well underway,” Green said. “It’s kind of a rolling continual cycle for us of patching potholes, resurfacing, and that kind of construction.”

Both KCMO’s public works and the Missouri Department of Transportation say they’ve become experts in filling gaps.

“It’s just kind of one of those things. It’s a cycle,” Markl Johnson with the Missouri Department of Transportation said.

Both say potholes are best filled in warmer weather, but winter snow and spring rain make the in-between difficult. Once temperatures pick up those potholes will get filled up.

“We have a pretty good handle on it, actually. This year we have a little over 2,000 since the beginning of the year. About half of those have been patched,” Green said.

But what if you find yourself victim to a pothole on the street or highway?

“The sooner you call us, the quicker we can respond,” Johnson said.

“If you do happen to get property damage from a pothole the city has a claims process,” Johnson said.

Both KCMO and MoDOT have a claims process through their legal teams if your property was damaged.

In Kansas City, Missouri, during 2021, 553 pothole damage claims were filed. Of those, only 74 were approved. Green says the city paid out nearly $50,000 between those 74 claims.

“Just be careful and pay attention as you drive. We’re in the Midwest where our weather fluctuates so we know it’s going to come we know that it’s eventually going to happen. So, when pothole season comes, just be careful. Just be patient and keep your head on a swivel,” Johnson said.

If you need to file a claim with KCMO you can do so here.

If you need to file a claim with MoDOT you can do so here.

If you need to file a claim with KDOT you can do so here.