Readers, did you get out of the house to enjoy the beautiful weather we experienced last Sunday? Did you perhaps go for a drive in the country? Or did you bring out your bicycle or motorcycle for the first ride of the season? Or maybe you considered or even attempted one of these activities, but quickly changed your plans when you saw how many new potholes Minnesota streets and highways picked up over the winter. Minnesota pothole repair promises to be an extra-large project this year, which is why a legislative committee recently added $15 million into a transportation funding bill to pay for work. St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman estimates that it will cost $70 million to repair the decayed streets of St. Paul alone.
Short of being extra-careful, there is little one can do about potholes in the immediate future until road crews can get to work on them. Want to make sure a particular pothole gets its due attention? There is online reporting information specifically for Minnesota, Ramsey County, and St. Paul potholes. Have you suffered loss or injury due to a pothole that you feel warrants a tort action against the State? The Minnesota Department of Transportation offers some information about the Minnesota Tort Claims Act. For tort actions against municipalities, start by reading Minnesota Statute §466.
