It's getting close to that special time of year in Rockford. It's actually more than special, it's magical.

You know what I'm talking about, it's not the holidays or the turn of a new year, it's pothole dodging season.

Face it, it's gonna happen. Snow will fall, the city will salt, and potholes will soon start appearing all over Rockford.

While you'll be dodging and swerving, you'll eventually hit one and then curse out city government for not having those darn potholes filled fast enough.

The shocking thing is, if you think Rockford roads are bad, they actually aren't as bad as you'd think.

The Rockford region performed a bit better than the country's urban areas with the worst roads. In that area, 32 percent of the roads are in poor condition, 29 percent are in mediocre condition, 15 percent are in fair condition and 25 percent are in good condition.

However, "In the Rockford urban area, a driver spends $639 every year in extra operating costs, which is higher than the national average TRIP calculated."

So that means while the roads are certainly better in Rockford than other places, the costs of hitting some of those gargantuan potholes is hitting us harder in the wallet than the rest of the US.

Ah well, you win some you lose some.

Sweet Lenny is the brand manager of 97ZOK and Operations Manager for Townsquare Media Rockford. Catch him afternoons 3 to 7 on 97ZOK. Follow him on TwitterInstagram and like his page on Facebook.

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