Is it just me or is this the worst condition the roads in Sioux Falls have ever been in?

I swear some of these potholes around town are deeper than craters on the surface of the moon and nearly as impossible to navigate.

The Sioux Falls city streets and consequently all of our vehicles are definitely feeling the residual effects of one long-ass, brutal South Dakota winter.

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The running joke in this state each year is there are two seasons, winter and road construction. This year, the road construction season might actually end up being longer than winter itself because it is going to seemly take streets crews several months to patch up all the potholes that have popped up on almost every Sioux Falls city street.

What causes potholes to form anyway?

Is it the snow and ice? Extreme temperature change? The snow plows that scrape our streets? What exactly is creating all these car killers every spring?

I went right to the city of Sioux Falls for the answer to this one, according to the public works division at SiouxFalls.org, "water" is the primary culprit when it comes to the birth of a pothole.

While there can be a number of contributing factors that cause potholes to form, water and excessive traffic flow are typically to blame in most cases.

Water penetrates the pavement through cracks and deformities in the asphalt, then it leaves the base beneath the pavement soft and weak. Mother Nature joins the act at this point and starts to work her magic as spring begins, many freeze and thaw cycles occur and water expands and contracts during these cycles. The frequency of this causes damage to the cold and brittle pavement as we transition out of winter, once you combine that with heavy traffic flow the end result can often be a pothole the size of Drake Springs Pool on a city street.

And lord knows we have our unfair share of those monsters this pothole season.

So, the next time you encounter a Sioux Falls sinkhole that jolts you and your car to the bone, report that car killer to the city by calling the Sioux Falls Pothole Hotline at (605-367-8002).

Your car's tires, suspension system, and shock absorbers will thank you for it.

Source: City of Sioux Falls