Cleveland's pothole problem is getting worse.
In the first quarter of 2026, the city received about 1,500 pothole repair requests. That's a nearly 50% increase over the same period last year, according to , the city's non-emergency request line.
The culprits: an especially harsh winter and the freeze-thaw pattern known all too well to Clevelanders.
"Once that water gets into those potholes, it expands," said John Laird, the city's Director of Public Works. "When it freezes and then it thaws out, and you kind of keep doing this over and over again. So, having the frequency of these freeze-thaws, along with the very severe weather, really just did a number."
The city can sometimes struggle to keep up with those mounting requests in the winter. That's because the hot asphalt factories the city contracts with shut down in the winter, so the city must create its own supply. Last year, the city created 982 tons of fill 鈥� equivalent to the weight of 150 Africans elephants 鈥� using recycled materials to patch main roads.
"We are not an asphalt plant," Laird said. "We can't make tons and tons of volumes of that. ... That's kind of why we stick with the main roads, because we don't have enough asphalt to do everything."
A majority of this year's requests are marked closed, but that does not necessarily mean those potholes were filled. Some entries may be duplicates or have an inaccurate location.
City data shows 334 requests remain open, as of March 31.
Kamm's Corner on the far West Side is most affected for the second year running, with 237 requests.
Last year, city data showed Clevelanders submitted 613 pothole repair requests so far this year, accounting for more than 7% of all 311 service requests.
As the asphalt factories reopen, Laird said crews will be ramping up proactive pothole filling in residential areas later this month.
Last month, City Council approved Cleveland's annual operating budget with more money for roads. Mayor Justin Bibb initially proposed $12 million to street resurfacing, but council negotiated to increase street investment up to $20 million.
