Potholes on roadways can be scary for drivers and damaging to vehicles. The Ohio Department of Transportation is advising drivers to slow down around potholes to lessen the chance of vehicle damage.
News Center 7′s Ronnell Hunt took a drive on U.S. 35 and immediately noticed patch work. As he continued, potholes started to appear. They were so frequent that he had to make the decision to either slow down or change lanes to avoid damage to his vehicle.
He took that to Tiffany Oliphant, ODOT’s Public Information Officer for District 7. Oliphant said ODOT works on a priority system that is based on the roadway location and pothole size.
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“That depends on when they report it to us and the nature of the pothole, so we will address a large pothole in the middle of the interstate, of course but a pothole may be on the shoulder, we will get to that as well,” Oliphant said.
If a vehicle has been damaged by a pothole, Oliphant said the the court of claims gives a “reasonable amount of time” to repair the pothole. After that, the court decides who is responsible for the damage.
Potholes have to be patched initially using a cold mix in the winter because the hot mix asphalt used for paving isn’t available in cold weather. Potholes are generally patched in the winter, and then when temperatures start to warm, ODOT revisits the location to make permanent repairs.
If you have experienced damage to your car due to a pothole or want to report a pothole -- you can fill out ODOT’s incident reporting form here.
Cox Media Group
