Without a hot asphalt plant available, the city used its winter cold patch, which often breaks apart. Take a photo of the pothole at the time of the incident. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Denver7 filed an open records request for claims of pothole damage filed against the City of Denver in spring 2021. Allison Mergens of Omaha said she felt super thankful for road hazard coverage on new tires she bought from Discount Tire. The bond project will take 20 years to complete. Consequently, state roadways deal with an increased amount of heavy truck traffic. The director of public works for the city of Rockford, Illinois, told a local news outletin February 2022, Its not uncommon during winter months to see anywhere from 6,000 to 8,000 potholes patched on a monthly basis. And thats just one city among hundreds. Follow this link to call it in and get the name of the representative that assists you. Like its deep. You can cancel at any time. Damage to the vehicles tires, hubcaps, struts, and alignment can quickly add up, leaving some drivers with repairs costing up to a thousand dollars or more. Boston is among the cities with the most pothole complaints, with an average of 303 anger-venting tweets per 1,000 km of road. The remaining claims are being processed. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. Rickey's ordeal started when he ran over a pothole on State Route 50. 4. Whether you are filing a claim with your insurance or the government, documentation is essential. And MnDOT has help: Minnesota Public Radio has teamed up with SeeClickFix to map out the worst potholes and alert the agency. If a pothole damaged your car on an Omaha city street, the mayor said she would pay for it, if it met some basic requirements. Another flyover and freight-haul state, Nebraska is also the site of more than 8,000 oil and gas wells, mostly in the southwest and west portions of the state. When you consider the total number of drivers in the United States, that few hundred dollars per driver tally up to $141 billion overall. She figures she fixed all three for about $30. Hitting a pothole is considered a collision. But Mayor Stothert temporarily changed that approach in this season's historically ba, Is a street project annoying you? The northern portion of the state, in particular, sees winter storms on par with those that impact portions of neighboring Utah and Colorado, but southern Arizona is not immune from the same weather events either. Despite its statewide defect law, Maine still contends with its fair share of potholes. INDIANAPOLIS New data obtained by WRTV Investigates shows the City of Indianapolis paid a few more people who made pothole claims than they did in 2021. You might be surprised that a state like Arizona, commonly associated with intense heat and desert landscapes, would bear the brunt of winter storms and heavy snow, but it does. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. City of Omaha Public Works Department 1819 Farnam Street, Suite #600 | Omaha, NE 68183 . . Each of these industries creates a lot of heavy truck trafficand you know what that means. The city has been re-paving major roads since around 2019, which helps diminish the potholes. - Pothole complaints: 7.8 for every 1,000 km of road. For a state with a $4.5 billion budget surplus, one might ask, is there any excuse for Marylanders to be dealing with so many potholes? With average winter temps dropping to as much as minus 30 F in some regions and summers rarely cresting 60 F, freeze-thaw cycles in this northern state are brutal. Omaha, Nebraska If you go to the city's website, there . Plattsmouth breaks ground on new wastewater treatment facility. distribution partner, email us at For now, Mergens said she focuses less on other traffic and more on the road conditions. The average number of claims in March from 2019 to 2021 was 62, MPI says. Omaha has rejected every claim in the last 5 years. If drivers hit a pothole and experience damage to their . Rev. You may also like: Defining historical moments from the year you were born, - Pothole complaints: 11.4 for every 1,000 km of road. 17 days later, Suann Witt hit a pothole 100 feet down the road from there. Not a single pothole damage claim has been paid out in recent years, public records provided to The World-Herald show. They can damage vehicles and cars. You may also like: Oldest national parks in America, - Pothole complaints: 7.7 for every 1,000 km of road. With 1.7 million people spread out over nearly 28,000 miles of roadway, its been able to maintain a robust maintenance program on a county-by-county basis. Pothole season: How to report potholes, get reimbursed for car damage Copyright 2019 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. If the city wants to help people in that way, then it should be a little more user friendly and more accessible for any person. Follow. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Kathy Hochul has declared war on potholes, as a means of trying to reach New Yorkers where they are hurting, promising to devote $1 billion to the problem. Fifteen times . One such person took to Twitter to declare, tongue planted firmly in cheek, My favorite Connecticut pastime is dodging potholes., - Pothole complaints: 15.4 for every 1,000 km of road. After emailing the city our findings, 3 News Now asked how the city could deny someone who appeared to meet all the requirements. Thats less than 13%. your CMS. That was the argument the city successfully used to avoid paying a driver thousands of dollars worth of pothole damage inflicted on his vehicle . City officials say they got to the temporary repairs this week as soon as they could, and city plans call for a permanent fix to happen in 2020. State maintenance crews have developed a fill em and forget em strategy by using cold-mix asphaltasphalt you can mix in an ordinary plastic bucketto plug the holes. Short of taking on City Hall, what can you do if a pothole damages your car? The New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) is among the few road and bridge agencies that must maintain what is largely a rural road network. With Omaha streets pocked with potholes, pointedquestionsaboutthe city's spending priorities are showing up on Mayor Jean Stothert's Facebo. (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). I encountered an absolutely insane pothole just west of 72nd on Cass street earlier. I zig-zag, Im trying to avoid potholes like everybody else and it gets a little crazy sometimes, says Omaha resident Martin Richardson. United States, Ruthless - A Conservative News Commentary. How to make a pothole claim - Confused.com While this is a staggering figure, it doesnt really punch its weight in terms of how degraded roadways affect the average person. One recent example was in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, when a Culligan water delivery truck found itself suspended in a 4-foot by 2-foot hole that required the assistance of a tow truck. If your car only suffered some minor dings and scratches (if that), you are definitely better off skipping any official claim process altogetherits just not worth the time and energy. Omaha residents Mark and Janine Emmons said their car suffered a flat tire earlier this week from a pothole, and they immediately contacted the mayor's . So yes, it's true drivers can get reimbursed (although not necessarily for the full amount). Not that folks plan to listen: a GoFundMe called Vallejo PotholeGate has already raised a few thousand bucks to keep the movement going. The City of Omaha has returned to its long-standing damage claims policy for vehicle damaged caused by potholes. Despite the relative frequency of pothole-related complaintsnot to mention the estimated $709 per year hit a given driver will take as a result of their preponderancethe futures looking brighter for Utahs roads. Not to be confused with the ecological benefits of prairie potholes, road deterioration is only slightly more of an issue in Montana than in some of the other Western states. Contact the Omaha Mayor's Hotline: 402-444-5555. In addition to denying 499 claims from 2014 through 2018, the city has rejected another 10 claims in 2019. The repairs including new tires, wheel work, strut work and alignment ended up costing nearly $1,200. Be the first to know when news happens. Since potholes largely plague asphalt roadswhich Iowa has a sizable number ofthe Iowa Department of Transportation has begun investing in research on the potential of recycled plastics to prolong the lifespan and overall durability of its asphalt roadways. For years the city has cited this statute to deny almost all its claims. - Pothole complaints: 2 for every 1,000 km of road. A pothole was reported at the same intersection Paige Peterson hit her pothole nearly two weeks prior. Here are some of Omaha's worst pothole spots, 'We would love your potholes': Welcome to Canyon Road, the worst road in Omaha, Breaking news email signup - What Counts form INLINE, Interstate pothole sidelines four vehicles at once as DOT fights a 'continual battle', Stothert: This is one of Omaha's 'worst pothole seasons,' but help is on the way, Council members weigh in on Omaha's potholes; 'I'm embarrassed about the streets in this city', Omaha closes part of South 144th Street because of rough road conditions, Pothole season is in full swing. Lincoln and both made the list of top U.S. cities for potholes. The City of Omaha does honor pothole damage claims -- the process, though, can be confusing. Cliff Moore, from left, Frank Mitchell and Louis Ulferts, all operators with the City of Omaha, fill potholes at 19th and Davenport Streets on Monday. This is the time of year we would expect potholes, weve got a lot of moisture out there, we still have some freeze-thaw conditions with cold overnight temperatures and warmer days, so that causes that thermal expansion, the water freezes it expands in there and stresses the pavement, Rowser says. Potholes are not just the curse of states that lay down a lot of salt in winterwhich causes breaks or delaminations in the road surfacenor are they merely the bane of the drier regions, where the sun hits the asphalt with relentless, year-round force. People deserve better.. republish under a Creative Commons License, and we encourage you to Several communities, however, have been looking for alternatives to using saltin the hopes that they might see environmental improvementsnot to mention fewer potholes. We said they had to follow our criteria, said Mayor Stothtert. 59 claims have already been filed during the two and a half month period to the mayor's office. . Local news outlets, including KMTV in Omaha, Nebraska, and WRIC-TV in Richmond, Virginia, have also reported that reimbursement applications are usually denied in their respective cities. Rhode Island has a lot to recommend it, but when it comes to potholes, the smallest geographic state takes the bituminous taco. If this happens while you are driving in Toronto, there is a process where you can submit a claim for damages within 10 days of the date of the incident. What is certain is that Nevada drivers are fed up with potholes and the state of roadways that make their fillings rattle. James Sherrets, an Omaha lawyer who has unsuccessfully filed a pothole damage claim against the city for his own car, said the city will take its position on potholes until its forced to pay a claim. [emailprotected]. City workers Nick Brown (left) and Mark Donner fill potholes near 70th and A streets on Jan. 26, 2010. and more. Right now the street is riddled with potholes. When it comes to the daily reality of driving on the nations roadways, statistics are one thing, but actually putting up with the sheer amount of cracks, delaminations, and potholes is something you can only truly measure by feedback from your fellow drivers. 8News found a little-known pothole policy that can make getting your money back a long shot. That doesnt cut it, he said. Spring is pothole repair season in much of Iowa, and the state has established a fairly robust maintenance program in this regard. Jeffrey Bloom, an assistant city attorney who handles pothole claims, said the city considers claims by taking into account such issues as the weather, crew availability, how long comparable cities take to fill potholes and how long Omaha historically takes. A stretch of 84th Street between Parkview Boulevard and Brentwood Drive drew a La Vista city crew for patching. About one in eight pothole damage claims in the past three years have been paid by the city. Claims will be paid from the citys contingency fund. City of Denver pays out for pothole damage, but it's rare - KMGH http://unomahanews.com/2022/04/13/uno-studio-coordinator-retires-in-may/, Reporter Crystal Kwaw has the story on UNO's drag show "Sashay to Earth Day." West Virginia is known for three things: coal, lumber and wood, and primary metals. 13-910(12). Most Common Reason City of Omaha is Denying Pothole Claims First, go to the p ublic works page to see if there's already a report on the pothole she hit. - Pothole complaints: 4 for every 1,000 km of road. Thornton Expressway near Dallas. This month, drivers around Omaha have grown frustrated as a bad crop of potholes pop open and damage their cars. - Pothole complaints: 16.5 for every 1,000 km of road, Its like a bad joke: New Jersey has so many potholes How many? It has so many potholes that getting to the grocery store is like off-roading. The average additional cost to drivers in vehicle damage is referred to as a New Jersey pothole tax, but leaders are hopeful the new infrastructure bill will send enough road-saving dollars their way to cut that out of drivers lives, and hopefully, instead of bright orange traffic cones, help Jersey find a different state flower., You may also like: Former jobs of the governor of every state, - Pothole complaints: 18.4 for every 1,000 km of road. The City of Boston has roughly 7,500 open pothole claims through its 311 website. Follow him on Twitter @jeffreyrobb. 2021, attack on the Capitol disclosed that many of Trump's top . You may also like: Most and least popular governors in America, - Pothole complaints: 5.9 for every 1,000 km of road. This concerning statistic gains in context when you consider the fact that 465 million tons of freight pass through the state each year, a figure expected to grow 65% by 2040. Councilman Ben Gray, who represents north Omaha, said this is one of the worst pothole seasons hes seen. She had hoped to be reimbursed, but when a reporter told her that the city doesnt pay for damage from potholes, she replied, Of course not.. The city said that report didnt count, because the caller who reported the pothole said it was in the eastbound lane and Petersons incident happened in the westbound lane. Were fighting against the elements right now, the weather causes the potholes and this time of year the weather prevents us from being able to fix them the best we can.. File a police report. The more permanent fix, Rowser adds, isnt quick. Murdoch says some Fox hosts 'endorsed' false election claims The 59 claims total around $28,000 in damages, roughly $530 per report. "Governmental Liability for Negligence. In the vast majority of cases, being startled is the only damage you will incur if you go over a pothole. "8 Signs of Pothole Damage.". Then the city received 1,320 repair requests in the first week of March, Mayor Jean Stothert reported last Monday. Between March and June, records show 63 claims were filed. If you are the first to report a pothole, the city is unlikely to pay anything. When it gets cold at night, the roads crack, resulting in a small or large pothole, he said. The deadline to file is March 18. Last week right before the snow actually, I hit a pothole and it bent my rim, I had to replace the rim and also get another tire, Richardson adds. A City of La Vista crew works to patch a stretch of 84th Street between Parkview Boulevard and Brentwood Drive on Monday. Potholes running in the thousands are nothing new to the state of Massachusetts, and drivers report some scary situations, especially in the winter months when slush and rain reduce visibility. Traffic was literally stopped in the right lane and I was like wtf until I remembered I live in omaha where potholes can literally be a foot deep or more. It's easier to file damage claims in some states than in others. It makes me feel sad that we cant trust those kinds of statements that are made by our politicians, said Witt. Jeanne Levering is one driver whos frustrated. She hit a pothole at the roundabout entering Elmwood Park that took out her front passenger tire. changed due to the pandemic? Talk to local officials if there is a problem. Potholes - Tennessee Milder weather has returned, meaning potholes have returned. City of Omaha to pay for pothole claims - KMTV The department is devoting more than half of its $16.4 capital budget to maintaining degraded roads and other infrastructure. 2. Now shes hoping it wont cost her an arm and a leg to get fixed. Should I Pay For an At-Fault Claim Myself? The Omaha News Stacker believes in making the worlds data more accessible through