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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — With spring weather also comes potholes that will form because of the warm up.

Johnny Pritchard said it was just a regular date night for one of his kids, until a pothole got in the way.

“They hit a pothole on the loop on 670 and ended up with a flat,” he said.

The car was left on the side of the road while they looked for a spare tire. The next day, the car was hit by a hit-and-run driver, and now totaled.

“It’s not MoDOT’s fault the car got hit,” he said. “But definitely a bad spot where the potholes are located,” Pritchard said.

He said potholes are everywhere, and that’s the complaint of many drivers in the Kansas City metro, on both city roads and highways.

But both the city of Kansas City, Missouri and the Missouri Department of Transportation said they are working to patch the roads up.

In 2022 alone, Kansas City has seen 886 pothole complaints. MoDOT has seen 300 in the Kansas City area.

City spokesperson Maggie Green said although they have had a significant amount of complaints since January, their plan is working effectively, with over half of those complaints resolved.

“We have had a lot more reported to our system, so we are feeling pretty good this season about where we are,” she said.

MoDOT pledged $18 million towards fixing potholes across the state. Leaders with the agency say fixing the potholes in a timely fashion once they are reported, is one of their biggest priorities.

Service Advisor Erin Hall with Northtown Auto Clinic in Kansas City said her shop has seen multiple cars with pothole damage, from small repairs, like the underbelly, or reattaching, and on to the bigger repairs, strut assembly or frame damage. These repairs can cost hundreds.

Hall said sometimes a pothole can’t be avoided.

“Keeping your eyes ahead of you, shifting lanes slowing down, but being aware of your surroundings, so that you don’t put anyone else in danger,” she said.

Hall said even with the complaints, with the weather changing, potholes are inevitable. But doing things like reporting it to the responsible agency, and keeping yourself safe, can make the problems from those big holes, a whole lot smaller.

“They are usually pretty upset but also pretty understanding, but it’s kind of like, my soul left my body, it’s pretty rough,” she said.

To report a pothole in KCMO, click here.

To report a pothole on a highway, click here.