Due to the freeze-thaw cycle, pothole season in Michigan typically peaks during the late winter and spring months.
Michiganders are stuck paying for vehicle damage caused by those potholes.
The Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association (MITA) is giving residents a chance to win cash toward pothole-related car repairs through Fix MI State—a campaign created and led by MITA to raise awareness about Michigan’s infrastructure and urge lawmakers to find solutions.
The Pothole Payback contest is designed to spotlight Michigan’s road maintenance issues and the financial burden they create for residents.
Now through June, MITA will award up to five drivers each month as much as $758 for pothole-related vehicle repairs.
Rob Coppersmith, executive vice president of the association, said that’s the average amount drivers spend on such repairs, according to The Road Information Program's (TRIP) 2024 Report.
"The average for Michigan is $758 for pothole-related incidents and vehicle damage to your car," Coppersmith said. "So it's higher in metro Detroit and lower in some other regions, but this is an average. And we thought we'd draw attention to that by helping out a few people that have maybe suffered car damage in various regions of the state and giving them a little love back to offset that vehicle damage."
Coppersmith added that winners won’t be selected based solely on the extent of the damage.
"What we're going to try to do is make sure that we spread it out throughout the regions and then depending on how many submissions are in various regions, just take a look at their story and see what their need is, and kind of reward based on that."
Drivers can submit one claim per month. Michigan residents can upload photos and a short story about the damage through a submission form.
While a nine-bill road funding package recently passed the Michigan House of Representatives, infrastructure advocates say a long-term solution is still needed before the end of the year.
