UPDATE: With March Madness canceled, we have decided to cancel the accompanying Pothole Madness challenge. Thank you to everyone for your engagement around this. We will be in touch about future contest opportunities down the line. Until then, drive safe, and stay healthy!
While pothole frustrations run rampant year-round for Michiganders, no season is more frustrating than that of the winter thaw when pothole season begins in full force. To kick off the season, Fix MI State is hosting a ‘Pothole Madness’ bracket challenge as the national March Madness competition gears up.
Beginning March 9, Michigan residents across the state are encouraged to submit photos of their worst potholes for a chance to be entered into the statewide ‘Pothole Madness’ bracket challenge. The challenge will run through early April and the winner will receive a $1,000 gift card to a tire repair shop to spend on their broken, flat and damaged tires and suspension systems.
“Even as a short-term solution for our state trunk lines has been identified, Michigan continues to fail in identifying a long-term solution to fix our crumbling roads – particularly local driveway to highway streets and roads,” said Mike Nystrom, executive vice president with the Michigan Infrastructure & Transportation Association. “Our elected officials may be satisfied with the current road repair policies, but Michiganders are not. The least we can do is showcase our roads and help a family make needed car repairs.”
From March 9-16, Michigan residents are encouraged to submit their pothole photos to the Fix MI State Facebook and Twitter channels. The campaign will then select the worst potholes for entrance into the Pothole Madness bracket. The public will be invited to participate in voting ”winners” through the bracket, with a final winner announced in early April.
“We know the road industry is doing all they can to keep on top of our infrastructure with the current available resources. The ‘Pothole Madness’ challenge will remind our lawmakers of the depth of our road maintenance problems and the very real costs drivers face whenever they receive a new bill for mounting car repair costs caused by the failure of the state to invest in our infrastructure,” added Nystrom.
Industry experts, business and community leaders, and politicians on both sides of the aisle agree that the state needs to invest at least $2.5 billion annually in infrastructure for the next two decades to actually solve Michigan’s infrastructure problem. More information about the state’s infrastructure needs can be found at FixMiState.org, a campaign led by the Michigan Infrastructure & Transportation Association.