Flint, Michigan – As winter continues to swing between freezing nights and brief thaws, the City of Flint is once again grappling with the fallout: cracked pavement and ruptured water lines scattered across neighborhoods.
City authorities said that the changing weather has caused a lot of potholes and water main breaks in the past few weeks. In response, personnel have been working longer shifts of 10 hours to keep up with the rising list of problem areas.
Read also: Genesee County secures $100,000 Rocket Community Fund grant to prevent tax foreclosures
This season, the city’s street repair team has already placed around 150 tons of cold patch material on Flint roadways, focusing on damaged areas as rapidly as conditions allow.
The city commended residents for speaking up and reporting problems in a statement posted on Friday. Officials stressed that requests from the community and submissions online are very important because they assist staff find issue locations and send repair personnel to those regions more quickly. The announcement said that reports from the public are a big part of making roads better across the city.
Dan Schiller from the Street Maintenance Department stated that what residents do makes a difference that can be measured. He said that when individuals take the time to report potholes, the department can prioritize repairs and get to them faster. He also said that the crews are still focused on making steady progress, even though this winter has been extremely hard.
The pressure on infrastructure isn’t new. According to Communications Manager Jason Lorenz, Flint recorded more than 400 water main breaks last winter alone — a reminder of how vulnerable underground systems can be when temperatures drop sharply and then rebound.
City leaders are asking people to keep reporting problems as they come up. You can call 810-766-7343 to report potholes and 810-766-7202 to report water main breaks. You can also make requests online on the city’s street maintenance page.
Officials stress that the relationship between residents and repair staff remains very important because winter weather is still around. They underline that those timely notifications help the city stay ahead of dangers and keep Flint’s roadways and water systems running as safely and smoothly as possible.