Philadelphia potholes: Why they are so widespread and how to file claims for damaged vehicles

BREWERYTOWN - Looking ahead to spring, all eyes are on the famous pothole problem Philadelphia regularly experiences. It poses one question – who is the biggest pothole gremlin in the city…new construction and the constant digging into the roadways or Mother Nature?

"The temperatures didn’t get below freezing that much, but the streets never really had a chance to dry out. A lot of moisture gets into the roadway underneath? You don’t need much of a freezing temperature to create potholes," Philly Streets Chief Engineer Steve Lorenz explained.

Mother Nature’s highjinks will always be a factor in the erosion of Philadelphia streets, Lorenz made that crystal clear Thursday as his guys patched up 29th, between Poplar and Girard. Utility and building contractors are supposed to repair street digs in the spring.

"The city is supposed to hold them to the responsibility, but they should be watching themselves, as well. Because they’re the ones who are gonna be getting the complaints," Lorenz remarked.

It doesn’t always happen. Many of the damaged streets are simply bad repairs by contractors that dug them up. The more building in a Philadelphia neighborhood, the more potholes to see. Crews were out repairing potholes, laying sealant on other recent fixes in other locations across Philadelphia Thursday.

"I need money to get it fixed," Mr. James stated. He was behind the North Philly AutoZone on Cumberland, waiting to get a broken tie rod fixed.

"You’ll be driving and you can’t see the hole until you hit it," Mr. James explained. "See that little hole right there? It’ll be all fun while you’re driving. Next thing you know? You’re in the hole."

Philly resident Gilbert drives slow, dodging potholes. Others who don’t know the streets like he does are paying a price.

"I’m seeing people’s tie rod, ends breaking, rims cracking. Flat tires. I mean, the street is terrible out here, you know?" Gilbert said. "The state gets enough money to maintain the streets, but they don’t wanna do it. We pay taxes."

Anyone driving in the city and hits a pothole that damages your car, this is the advice from Steve Lorenz:

• Call 311 and report the pothole so it can be repaired.
• Call 311 again, or have them transfer you to Risk Management, so you can file a claim with the city.

You can also report potholes or any street damage online, on the city's website here.

However, a lot of Philadelphia roads are state roads, in which case, PennDOT is the agency to report a pothole. Some of those streets include:

• Broad Street
• Market Street
• Chestnut Street
• Academy Road
• Frankford Avenue
• Oregon Avenue, east of Broad

Reports to PennDOT can be filed online on their website, here, under "Report a road or bridge ocncern."

Claims to PennDOT can be filed, here.

There are a lot of streets owned by the state, so make sure you find out in advance to file the appropriate claim.