Mar 9, 2009 6:10 am US/Central
7,000 Potholes Plague Chicago Streets
CDOT Crews Scramble To Keep Up
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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This car is about to go over one of the approximately 7,000 potholes that have cropped up in Chicago area this winter.
CBS
There are about 7,000 unfilled potholes around Chicago, and it will likely get worse before it gets better.
As CBS 2's Joanie Lum reports, it's not hard to find a street severely damaged by potholes. Along Wrightwood Avenue between Magnolia and Racine avenues, the pavement was pockmarked by a series of about 16 potholes of 1 foot or longer. They were found in both lanes of traffic, and motorists had to take it easy.
Lake Shore Drive had to be shut down on Sunday, after a massive pothole caused damage to 15 cars in the southbound lanes at Fullerton. One driver reported seeing the line of cars pulled over Sunday afternoon.
Emergency trucks were called in to fill that hole, and others along Lake Shore Drive. Just last year,
Lake Shore Drive was repaved between Irving Park Road and Foster Avenue because of severe potholes on that stretch last winter.
Motorists say the roads have been especially bad this year.
"Everywhere you go, it's potholes everywhere. They're really deep; they're dangerous. It's bad for your car. It's causing accidents," said Sheila Evans.
"I've never, in living in Chicago 65 years, seen anything like it," said Herv Rudoy. "The streets are incredibly bad."
Officials from the Chicago Department of Transportation said crews will be on the street seven days a week.
March and April are traditionally the worst times of year for potholes, because the weather starts getting warmer.
"Our crews continue to work seven days a week to stay on top of the problem and I'm proud of their efforts," Chicago Department of Transportation commissioner Thomas G. Byrne said.
Currently, there are 7,000 potholes callers reported to 311 that need to be filled. Just two weeks ago there were 5,000. Byrne says workers are filling between 3,000-4,000 potholes each day.
"I'm not seeing an improvement, but there's so many of them that they could be working on it and you can't tell – there's just so many of them," said motorist Sheila Evans.
While CDOT works filling potholes, Erie LaSalle Body Shop is busy fixing cars, damaged by the road craters.
"Wwe've seen sometimes, both axles broken and both rims bent," said Bill Wert of the Erie LaSalle Body Shop.
Most cars that have pothole encounters are coming in with front suspension damage, which is right here and in really severe cases, they've been seeing cars with both front tires, completely blown out.
In the meantime, CDOT's commissioner says the best thing you can do for everyone when you see a pothole is call it in.
"When we respond to 311 reported potholes, we also fill the other potholes nearby," Byrne said.
CBS 2's Joanie Lum and Suzanne Le Mignot contributed to this report.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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