and more. Kentuckys geographic position makes for tough winters in the northern part of the state and deeply hot summers in the southern areas, which is a recipe for potholes. 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. It was shared more than 30,000 times in one week. In other areas, drivers have reported potholes the size of swimming pools. Consequently, state roadways deal with an increased amount of heavy truck traffic. Milder weather has returned, meaning potholes have returned. 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. 3 News Now emailed the city a list of several cases including some where the citys own database seemed to suggest it was aware of the potholes in areas for weeks. 2) Click on the green "Start a New Report" button at the bottom of the screen. Personal injury and property damage claims (tort claims) must be filed within 90 days from the date of occurrence. Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. To have a claim successfully paid, the city says it must also have had what they call a quote reasonable time to make the repair. While the odds are low to get pothole damage paid by the city, the more reports of potholes, the higher the chance itll get fixed. And that means, in Omaha, there are plenty of opportunities to illustrate our city's biggest nemesis to drivers: potholes. A Jan. 9 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) claimslocal governments will fully reimburse drivers affected by a costly road hazard. A link for the application is located on the Omaha City Clerk's website. Rowser says the number of complaints from February alone regarding potholes is greater than 600, but thats about average for this time of year. ", New York State Department of Transportation. Allstate. Position switches part of 'magic' for Nebraska coach Matt Rhule, Shatel: Sam Griesel is 'living the dream' at Nebraska - all thanks to the transfer portal, Results: Nebraska high school girls basketball state tournament, March 1, Ker-clunk! City of Omaha trying to keep up with hundreds of potholes. Crews patched potholes in the street Monday. People may remember Jim Champion, known around Omaha as The Auto Guy from WOWT a few years ago. Of course, it can be a lengthy process, so be prepared to pay the cost up front. The City's insurance adjusters will determine if they are . The state is certainly aware of this factdrivers can apply for reimbursement for repairs needed to their vehicles as a result of a run-in with a pothole. Take a photo of the damage done to your vehicle. Perhaps they are letting their fingers do the walking to the states 311 pothole reporting service instead. The act allows cities a reasonable amount of time after receiving notice about a pothole to make repairs prior to incurring potential liability. Filing an Electronic Claim Using the eClaim System. Thats less than 13%. Its not just about where youre going, but also whats on the ground. - Pothole complaints: 12 for every 1,000 km of road, There are some runs of potholes on Connecticut roads that are almost unbelievable. Sierra Nauslar said she cringed when her vehicle hit a pothole near 105 th and Pacific this week. Precision Scheduled Railroading Is Railroad Cost-Cutting Dangerous? The city has been re-paving major roads since around 2019, which helps diminish the potholes. You may also like: Best-run cities in America. If your car has experienced damage from a pothole, you can file a report and a claim with the city here. 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. None of the municipalities researched by USA TODAY offered blanket approvals for the full cost of every claim as the post asserted, however. restrictions, which you can review below. The City of Denver does pay out damages for some pothole claims, but the data shows it's rare. Take a photo of the pothole. Phone: 402-444-1128. - Pothole complaints: 1 for every 1,000 km of road. . WRIC-TV, July 20, 2021, Richmond's little-known pothole claims policy makes getting damages covered difficult KMTV, Aug. 13, 2019, Most Common Reason City of Omaha is Denying Pothole Claims You can reach that office by calling (804) 646-7940. According to insurance marketplace QuoteWizard, Grand Junction, Colorado, is the second-worst city in the union for potholes. Keep reading to see how states stack up according to the complaints of their own drivers. Eyewitnesses can help bolster your case. Fifteen times . The Clunker Junker gave this a shot back in October 2021 with some help . Since about Feb. 13, Mergens said she damaged three tires on her Ford Fiesta from three different potholes around Omaha one around Farnam Street and Happy Hollow Boulevard, the next on a turning ramp going from Millard Avenue to L Street, the third east of Benson around the Northwest Radial. A truck hits a pothole on northbound 144th Street just north of U Street. Lincoln and both made the list of top U.S. cities for potholes. And the Alabama Department of Transportation is presently supporting its Rebuild Alabama Act with a series of road restoration projects it hopes will nip much of the pothole problems the state has in the bud. Original reporting by University of Nebraska at Omaha students. If your neighborhood is particularly pothole-riddled, sometimes a few calls to public officials can get the problem fixed, saving youand countless other driversthe headache and hassle of pothole damage. Should I Pay For an At-Fault Claim Myself? In 2022, the era of social media, a little bit of Facebook or Twitter lobbying never hurt anyone. - Pothole complaints: 3.4 for every 1,000 km of road. The street will close Sunday for an asphalt overlay from West Center Road to Pacific Street. That doesnt cut it, he said. Repair requests can also be made through the mayors hotline. Plattsmouth breaks ground on new wastewater treatment facility. File a police report. The people are the story. If you have further questions, please call the Omaha Mayor's Hotline at 402-444-5555 or email: hotline@cityofomaha.org. "8 Signs of Pothole Damage.". A stretch of 84th Street between Parkview Boulevard and Brentwood Drive drew a La Vista city crew for patching. The Omaha News In one Yukon suburb, an anonymous citizen made clear how he thinks potholes are affecting his community. - Pothole complaints: 0.8 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. She said the citys response is better than its ever been. The city has denied 156 claims, for reasons including the pothole was not within the Omaha city limits, was located in a private . "They are worse than any that I've seen since I was in Omaha or for a lot of people that have lived here there whole lives," said Mayor Stothert. Here are some of the worst pothole locations, based on drivers complaints to the City of Omahas online hotline or as witnessed by others. A recent report from the Reason Foundation put the state 30th in overall highway infrastructure, a slight improvement over its 2019 ranking, but woefully behind where it was as recently as 2016. Stat. On state highways, you can report potholes and file a claim . He felt his car driving differently. The mayor of Vallejo, California, had to recently ask residents to stop taking it upon themselves to fix potholes in their community, claiming such pothole vigilantism presented a liability problem. If youre driving during the day and in conditions of high visibility, spotting and avoiding a pothole is easyif youre paying attention, and if the road is relatively empty. In all, 34 crews will be on pothole duty starting Monday, Stothert said. Most major cities have a dedicated line for dealing with such complaints, but for small cities, perhaps just going to City Hall will fix the problem. Stat. The comments informed others where major potholes were located. share our stories with your audience. Fortunately, some of the states largest cities, such as Houston, are trying to get ahead of the problem. The claim had to have been filed no later than March 18th. Follow him on Twitter @jeffreyrobb. The city won't pay up. That temporary exception has ended. A pothole damage claim is a single-car accident, which is filed as an at-fault accident by your insurance carrier. So, she and 6 News Bella Caracta walked through the process together last night. Crews will be, Council members had already heard about street problems before the weather finally warmed enough to let Public Works road crews get to work pa. Our responsibility is to fix the roads in a reasonable amount of time, Stothert said. The city paid out on 56 such claims, for a total of $24,366, in the fiscal year ending June 30. Champion said it is definitely pothole season. And residents have no qualms about pointing them out. OMAHA, Neb. In 2017, 22,500 potholes were temporarily patched in Tacoma. But seriously.. Youre looking at a situation you cant get to every pothole right away, Bloom said. Rev. Hitting a pothole is considered a collision. We want them to return home to their friends and family at the end of the day, too.. A Papillion woman drove down 90th Street between Pacific Street and West Center Road and hit a huge chuck hole I couldnt miss. She wrote that she lived on Social Security and didnt have cash to fix her car. Take a photo of the pothole at the time of the incident. Right now the street is riddled with potholes. After you submit it, there will be an investigation. You need this to be able to make your pothole claim from the local authority. 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. The Alliance for Alabamas Infrastructure operates a Fix Our Roads initiative to encourage investment in the states road system. When a Not-at-Fault Claim Can Raise Your Insurance Costs, What To Do When Someone Scratches Your Car, What to Do if You Crash Into a Car in a Driveway, Car Insurance Claims Questions and Answers, How To Get a Salvage Title Removed on a Vehicle. Then, the city must have a certain number of business days to determine whether it is liable. That section has reopened. Since this city is a major tourist destination, particularly for hikers and naturalists, one may assume a good portion of the complaints are coming from out-of-staters. Take a photo of the damage done to your vehicle. Pothole Repair. - Pothole complaints: 2 for every 1,000 km of road. Potholes tore apart 144th Street in Millard, leading the City of Omaha to shut down a section of street to rebuild it. Pothole damage to your vehicle can easily be extended. Keep a record of each one and go with the cheapest. First, go to the p ublic works page to see if there's already a report on the pothole she hit. Take care of 70,032traffic control signs. - Pothole complaints: 15.5 for every 1,000 km of road. Within a few hours of contacting the city, the pothole was filled in and [I] got my tire fixed, Janine said. Despite a sizable investment in surface transportation, Washington state struggles mightily with fractured roads. The City of Omaha has returned to its long-standing damage claims policy for vehicle damaged caused by potholes. Copyright 2019 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. There are a few guidelines and Get at least two estimates from two different mechanics. Omaha is currently growing at a rate of 1.54% annually and its population has increased by 4.76% since the most recent census, which recorded a population of 486,051 . Like other flyover states, Kansas is also a freight-through state, meaning heavy truck and haul traffic still creates its fair share of potholes. Note the date and time of the accident. 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 . Copyright 2023 WOWT. Nonetheless, anticipation is half of preparation, and so NCDOT officials are ready for what it expects to be a spring influx of complaints. However, several people meeting the basic requirements are being denied for the same reason, Neb. The answer is: yes, you can. This is especially true in Texas. On top of that, 28 more claims from this year were pending. For years the city has cited this statute to deny almost all its claims. 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. When youve got the second-worst bridge condition situation in the country, according to the American Road & Transportation Builders Association, along with more than 50% of statewide roads not even maintained enough to call fair, naturally, a pothole problem is going to follow. We are the award-winning television station at the University of Nebraska Omaha. http://ow.ly/WEL050IJ8bC, Omaha drivers get ready for pothole season, Omaha Game Enthusiast Shares Passion with Community through Business. But to get . Please subscribe to keep reading. Get the latest breaking headlines sent straight to your inbox. 3) Specify the location of the issue by clicking on the map, entering the address, or using . Claim for $255.73: Rejected. 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.. 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, it's been able to maintain a robust maintenance program on a county-by-county basis.The city of Idaho Falls, for example, has a pothole hotline, and recent major road repair projects have targeted potholes on state highways 33 and 45. Theyre still liable once theyve gotten notice of the condition, he said. According to research going back to 2004, Michigan is in the top three states with the highest number of pothole complaints. If you show proof you've filed a report with the city and have documentation of a repair bill or a tow receipt the city will write you a check for the amount the damage cost. But Mayor Stothert temporarily changed that approach in this season's historically ba, Is a street project annoying you? your CMS. Updated: Jul 19, 2021 / 10:27 PM CDT. Fortunately, many cities and towns have been proactive in addressing the problem. Manage 12,580 traffic signals. The City of Winnipeg has repaired 23,000 potholes since the beginning of April,focusing first on major routes and bus . A coming project concerning you? Im hoping that its just the tire thats an issue, but I mean it goes down into the ground several inches. as well as image rights, data visualizations, forward planning tools, A Fremont man was driving near 144th and Pacific when he encountered a pothole, blew a front tire and knocked his cars front end out of alignment. The public can assist in road repairs by reporting potholes here, . "Governmental Liability for Negligence. 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. We did some scouting for you. 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.