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CAR CRATERS
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The Vindicator (Youngstown)
Potholes such as this one in the 1400 block of South Avenue are easy to spot during the day but can be masked in puddles and during night travel. They can cause damage a vehicle’s tires, alignment and suspension.
FILING A pothole damage CLAIM
State roads in unincorporated municipalities: such as interstates, state and U.S. routes, note where the pothole is located, then file a claim through the Ohio Court of Claims by
calling 800-824-8263.
Damage and potholes also can be reported to the Ohio Department of Transportation by visiting dot.state.oh.us and searching “damage to vehicle.”
State roads in city or incorporated municipality: such as a state or U.S. route, contact the city or governing authority directly.
Source: Ohio Department of Transportation
By Karl Henkel
khenkel@vindy.com
YOUNGSTOWN
The snow is quickly melting, which theoretically should make driving around the Mahoning Valley a bit easier.
The temperature is rising, but so are damaging effects to vehicles.
Welcome to pothole season.
With the worst of winter seemingly in the rearview mirror, Ohioans find themselves no longer battling snow and slippery roads, but potholes, created mostly due to Mother Nature’s coldest season and any open crack in the pavement.
It may not be as dangerous as driving through a snowstorm, but potholes can be quite expensive, especially when it comes to repairs on a vehicle’s tires, suspension and alignment.
Just ask the folks at West Side Tire and Service, who have been in the auto-repair business in the Youngstown area since 1978 and have service stations in Austintown, Niles and Youngstown.
Doug Cressman, manager at the Niles location, 1109 Youngstown-Warren Road, said pothole season is in full swing and his shop already has seen tire damage and suspension problems.
Cressman said issues such as this will continue “until they fix the roads.”
“It could be one week, it could be six months,” he said.
Cressman said that the typical cost for a realignment ranges from $60 to $80, but estimating tire repair or replacement costs varies significantly depending on vehicle type.
It’s not just a couple of people experiencing tire problems. Last spring, AAA East Central reported it assisted 5,500 Northeast Ohio motorists with flat tires, a number Bevi Powell, director of communications, said is a consistent yearly total.
So how long is pothole season going to last in 2011, and is there any way to shorten it?
Joseph Mastropietro, general foreman in the Youngstown Street Department, said the city is doing the best it can to fill as many potholes as quickly as possible.
“We’re taking orders from citizens or any of our supervisors,” said Mastropietro, who added most calls about potholes are courteous, and very few citizens who call are upset. “We’re taking all of our manpower, or most of it, and directing it toward filling potholes.”
He said both day and night shifts have been dispatched to fix streets and added this season may not be as bad as in previous years, despite near record-breaking snowfalls.
“Since it’s been cold consistently, even though there are a lot of potholes, there aren’t necessarily more of them,” Mastropietro said.
Recently the department worked on Market Street near Interstate 680, filling numerous potholes.
For those unpatched places that cause vehicle damage, Powell said repairs can be covered under a person’s AAA collision coverage, though the damage caused by a pothole probably won’t exceed a person’s deductible.
Drivers also can — and do — take legal action against the city.
Pothole claims can be submitted to the city — with information of when and where the damage occurred, the driver’s insurance information (including deductible amount) and an estimate for repairs — by mail to the city law department, 26 South Phelps St.
Dana Brandt, law department secretary, said that as of Tuesday, the department had received two claims.