With spring evidently starting early in Lincoln, road repair crews are taking advantage of the weather to patch up streets across the city.
According to data provided to KLIN News by Lincoln Transportation and Utilities, from Jan. 1 through Feb. 12, 2026, crews have filled 5,671 potholes.
“We have crews working every single day, Monday through Friday, filling in those potholes, doing crack sealing, and making sure our streets receive the necessary maintenance to extend their life,” said LTU Communications Manager Erika Hill.
Even though crews are fanning out across all quadrants of the city, some cavities still slip through the cracks. But residents are helping serve as the city’s eyes and ears.
Hill said LTU has received 182 pothole repair requests from the community so far this year. “We appreciate people reporting those so we can get out and address them,” she said. Residents can report potholes directly to LTU at lincoln.ne.gov/UPLNK. Throughout 2025, residents submit nearly 1,000 pothole notifications to LTU.
Good news: pothole headaches appear to be, on average, less common than they once were. Over the last decade, the annual average number of potholes in Lincoln has been on the decline, Hill said.
According to LTU data, from 2015 to 2019, Lincoln averaged filling about 53,000 potholes per year. From 2020 to 2025, that figure fell to about 37,000 potholes per year. That’s a decrease of about 30 percent.
Hill points to year-round proactive maintenance, improved data collection, and investments made through the voter-approved Lincoln on the Move quarter-cent sales tax as major contributors to the decline.
“We are always working to ensure safe and smooth commutes around town,” she said.
Additionally, Hill said Lincoln’s recent pattern of milder winters has helped mitigate freeze-thaw cycles—a common cause of potholes and asphalt cracking—across the Midwest.
“Our snowplows are always ready for snow and ice, but we’ve lucked out a bit this year. We’ve had a little bit of ice, so we’re making sure salt and brine is being laid down when that happens. But so far, no snowplows needed,” said Hill.
For more information on the city’s pothole response efforts, visit lincoln.ne.gov.