WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – Dealing with potholes is an all-winter long affair and repairs are dependent on weather conditions.
Potholes are the product of water seeping through pavement cracks and freezing. When that ice expands, the pavement rises and breaks, creating the dreaded pothole.
“I actually got a flat tire from one this week,” said Kayla Schlenz of Springfield.
“Yeah, it’s frustrating for everyone because tires aren’t cheap. Repairs, especially if your rim gets damaged in those potholes, on top of your tire getting ruined… it’s not cheap,” said Liz Carlson of West Springfield.
Public works departments share the distain for these road defects. In the winter, cold patches are used as temporary solutions until the weather allows for more-effective hot patches to be used.
“It doesn’t create a perfect seal like a hot patch does, so that’s why we spend the whole winter filling these holes because the cold patch keeps popping out,” said Trevor Wood, Deputy Director of the West Springfield DPW.
Your local DPW wants you to report potholes. It helps them to be able to repair them more quickly and it can also help you if your car gets damaged by one of them.
“If somebody hits a pothole that we don’t know about, we’re not at fault. But if someone actually called in, told us that there was a pothole and we didn’t fix it, then we’re at fault for it,” said Wood.
If your car is damaged on a city or town street from a documented pothole, you can file a claim. When it comes to state streets and highways, there’s no recovery for property damage… only personal injury.
If you frequent I-91 or I-391, you know highways aren’t immune to those potholes. MassDOT was out Tuesday making repairs.
Although you can’t get coverage for vehicle damage caused by potholes, you can still report them for hopefully more prompt repairs.
Kaelee Collins is a reporter who has been a part of the 22News team since 2022. Follow Kaelee on X @kaelee_collins and view her bio to see more of her work.