Pothole 101: Watch Out! It’s That Time Of Year Again
Ka-Chunk, Ka-Ching! Get Paid For Pothole Damage
WHAM!
The impact shakes the entire vehicle, and the sound startles you and any passengers almost as much as your full-throated scream of expletives.
It’s officially pothole season again according to the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT).
Warmer temperatures after weeks of below freezing temperatures is the cause of loosening asphalt that create potholes on city streets. It’s this freeze/thaw cycle that accounts for all the damage to streets.
CDOT officials said in a press conference Tuesday that, while there were only 100 calls over the weekend reporting potholes, there were over 400 on Monday, February 14th after the weather warmed.
According to CDOT Commissioner Bobby Ware pothole repair crews are working seven days a week, with 17-20 crews deployed during the week, four on weekends, and one overnight crew. Pothole crews have repaired over 84,000 potholes since December 1st, 2010.
Drivers who see potholes are encouraged to report them online at the city’s website or call 311.
“Every pothole reported to 311 is important to us, and will be repaired,” said Ware. “311 is a great tool that allows us to track the thousands of requests we receive.”
If your car is damaged due to a pothole on a Chicago street, the city may help you pay to have your car repaired. Stop by the Chicago City Clerk’s website for the information and the Damage to Vehicle claim form.
Make sure you attach any supporting documentation like photographs, receipts from the auto shop, etc., when you mail your claim.
It takes four to six months to hear back, as a claim travels from the Clerk to the City Council Finance Committee, the pothole location is actually confirmed by CDOT and ultimately goes back to the City Council to be approved or denied.
And don’t expect to get your repairs paid in full. The city only pays for half of the cost at best as it holds the driver at least 50% liable for the damage.
4-6 months? Your being generous. I had to wait 9 months for my check from a pothole hit back last February. I love the fact that the City hold’s the driver 50% responsible. Maybe if they did the job the right way the first time, there would be few potholes.
I think the city is being generous in paying half the cost. I was told a long time ago that there is no such thing as an accident when it comes to driving. The most common mistake that everybody, including your humble netizen, makes is following too closely. I know how impossible it is to maintain any kind of spacing in traffic without some a$%*@$e sticking their fender into your space. But, please, for the sake of your car and your own spine, try to keep enough space open to at least see and react to what the car in front of you just passed over. Either that or keep your mechanic’s and chiropractor’s numbers handy.
Oh, I forgot: @ Rinzler, there is no such thing as indestructible pavement when you have freeze/thaw cycles. All it takes is a few drops of water getting between the pavement and its substrate and freezing there. Water expands when it freezes and makes that minuscule space that much bigger so on the next thaw it will hold that much more water. The repeated heaving damages both the asphalt or concrete and the substrate, creating potholes. Add in the occasional wheel-strike random crushing and the road falls to pieces. It’s been estimated that most asphalt roads in temperate climates would disintegrate in 10 to 15 years without maintenance.
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I still don’t believe that we can’t build the roads properly in the first place to at least significantly reduce the frequency and size of potholes.
The roads in Chicago are, mostly, pathetic. Other areas with freeze/thaw cycles are nowhere as bad.
We build the roads junky and then we repair them junky, and this is the outcome. Junky roads.
Doesn’t help the state has bankrupted us and we have no money to fix anything.
Aside from costs incurred to damaged vehicles, drivers may end up paying an irreparable cost in terms of safety. In complete agreement with some of the other folks who advocate better infrastructure design, it is time for officials to engage in complete life-cycle assessment when planning projects. This gives industry leaders and policymakers a roadmap for planning infrastructure initiatives that are cost-effective, transparent, and environmentally sound for years to come.
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