Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook. Talk to local officials if there is a problem. Your collision deductible will apply, and your rates could go up at your next renewal due to filing an at-fault claim. Fortunately, some of the states largest cities, such as Houston, are trying to get ahead of the problem. The City of Omaha does honor pothole damage claims -- the process, though, can be confusing. The pothole had to be located on a city street. and more. But in 2021, I reported two potholes on a road that had been repaved in the previous year. "Small Claims. After emailing the city our findings, 3 News Now asked how the city could deny someone who appeared to meet all the requirements. People have submitted more than 600 claims for payment of pothole damage costs to the city since Monday afternoon, Mayor Jean Stothert says. Keep reading to see how states stack up according to the complaints of their own drivers. A visual can help support your claim. Repair requests can also be made through the mayor's hotline. We are spending taxpayer dollars, and we must be sure we are paying for damage that can be directly attributed to pothole damage, Stothert said. People deserve better.. Theyre still liable once theyve gotten notice of the condition, he said. Driver Lorna Sage says for those like her who drive older cars, the potholes are a major issue. Potholes tore apart 144th Street in Millard, leading the City of Omaha to shut down a section of street to rebuild it. 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. For the first half of 2019 the city listed the reasonable amount of time statute in more than 80 percent of its pothole claim denial letters. Drivers can in large part thank WYDOTs decision to use 3D scanning on roadways to identify conditions that create potholes before many even occur. State liability law seems to be on the citys side protecting the city unless it failed to fix a pothole in an undefined reasonable amount of time after it received proper notice. Fifteen times . Drivers should instead contact their insurance company. In addition to denying 499 claims from 2014 through 2018, the city has rejected another 10 claims in 2019. This month, drivers around Omaha have grown frustrated as a bad crop of potholes pop open and damage their cars. The citys hotline received more than 1,600 pothole complaints in January and February. While it's easy to file a pothole damage claim, it may be more trouble than it's worth and may increase your insurance rates. The city's policy was to deny all pothole damage claims. Like our page to get updates throughout the day on our latest debunks, North Carolina substations attack a 'wake-up call' in latest nationwide infrastructure threat, guidance from the insurance agencys website, 'All in on Africa's future': Biden announces trade, infrastructure investments in Africa, Richmonds little-known pothole claims policy makes getting damages covered difficult, Most Common Reason City of Omaha is Denying Pothole Claims, Your City Could Pay for Car Damage Caused by Potholes. In Atlanta, there is. The Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Codeprevents the Texas Department of Transportation from using state funds to compensate drivers for damage that happened because of highway conditions, such as potholes, said department spokesperson Julien Devereux. Omaha residents are encouraged to report potholes to the city's Public Works department, the same place they can file damage claims.Drivers who hit a pothole and end up with vehicle damage can get . You may also like: 25 terms you should know to understand the health care debate, - Pothole complaints: 0.4 for every 1,000 km of road. Then, when the temperature drops again, the water refreezes and . As of May 24, more than half have been reviewed and assigned claim numbers, 104 offers of payment have been made for a total of $31,650.33 and $21,620.91 has been paid. United States, Ruthless - A Conservative News Commentary. In the past 12 months, over 6,200 . A pothole was reported at the same intersection Paige Peterson hit her pothole nearly two weeks prior. Randy Seffron, behind and John Helwig with the City of La Vista, drop hot asphalt into potholes on 84th St. A wheel cover near 84th Street between Parkview Boulevard and Brentwood Drive in La Vista. Ah, Portland, Oregon, how its citizens always do what youd least expectand that includes its road workers. But to get . 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 . City Councilman Vinny Palermo, a former city public works employee who represents South Omaha, said he thought the city became liable if it didnt fix a pothole after a certain number of days. According to Consumer Affairs, the states overall pavement condition is relatively good, but sometimes statistics cant account for everythingcase in point, a 9-inch deep pothole that wreaked havoc on Route 9 traffic near Wilmington, Vermont. Leaders are talking about tax cuts and more spending on law enforcementbut as for road repair, it looks like the Maryland Department of Transportations coffers are already flush. By going back in time on omahahotline.com and back through a rough period of winter The World-Herald last week found pothole reports dating to Valentines Day still listed as In Progress.. Did you guys know if you hit a pothole and it caused damage to your vehicle, you can go down to city hall and file a complaint and show them the damages of your vehicle and they will pay to fix your vehicle since its a city issue! In this state, there is a slightly ironic case of drivers perhaps protesting too little. Contact the Omaha Mayor's Hotline: 402-444-5555. Fortunately, many cities and towns have been proactive in addressing the problem. your CMS. It essentially states the city must know about a road defect and be given a reasonable amount of time to fix it. OMAHA, (NEB.) The pothole had to have been reported to the city prior to the incident. However, the statute does not define "reasonable amount of time.". Many drivers end up paying hundreds to repair damage caused by the potholes, too. 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. In the event your vehicle is damaged by a pothole you can file a damage claim through the City Attorney's office. changed due to the pandemic? Sometimes, the damage sustained is a lower dollar amount than your deductible, which would make filing a claim irrelevant. The City of Winnipeg has repaired 23,000 potholes since the beginning of April,focusing first on major routes and bus . 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. We are the award-winning television station at the University of Nebraska Omaha. 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. It's easier to file damage claims in some states than in others. But seriously.. Union workers handle the citys water, development services, policing, finances, and yes, roadway maintenance. To that end, most Stacker stories are freely available to Stothert said city crews have been chasing their tails in extraordinary winter conditions to keep up with filling potholes, as the weather often washes out their work. The city wont pay you if it didnt know about the crater. Keep up 50 miles of unimproved drainage channel. 59 claims have already been filed during the two and a half month period to the mayor's office. 2) Click on the green "Start a New Report" button at the bottom of the screen. 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. More than a quarter of all 1,811 claims filed against the city in the last five years were for pothole damage. They are hard to drive around. Adult. Follow us on Facebook! "They're caused by nature. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. 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. Original reporting by University of Nebraska at Omaha students. The state is prone to extreme weather events, which means a lot of snow plow vehicles and salt usage, both of which are pothole contributors. Note the date and time of the accident. TIME reported in 2014 that damage claims are often rejected. Many states require you to provide proof that the road commission knew of the pothole for 30 days or more and did nothing to repair it. Is there such a thing as a car-sized series of potholes? Ronda Dolan from Omaha posted a picture of her flat tire on the Nextdoor app, leading to 80-some comments from other metro area residents. That vicious clunk, clunk your car makes whenever it hits a pothole. Now shes hoping it wont cost her an arm and a leg to get fixed. Without a hot asphalt plant available, the city used its winter cold patch, which often breaks apart. 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. Potholes can cause serious damage to your vehicle. Monday, the city expects hot asphalt to be available, and three contractors will join the work after city crews have been depleted by a shortage of employees. Northbound traffic lanes will be closed between Millard Avenue and Q Street, and southbound lanes between Q and U Streets. "After today any claims the city makes we'll review them on a case by case basis," Mayor Stothert said. - Pothole complaints: 7.8 for every 1,000 km of road. One out of every five roads in New Hampshire is in poor condition. - Pothole complaints: 0.8 for every 1,000 km of road. OneJanuary 2022 report out of Nashville spoke of clouds of road dust and hunks of rock flying up from the roadway into drivers windshields as the result of potholes. 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. A truck hits a pothole on northbound 144th Street just north of U Street. Were constantly evaluating methods, evaluating different repairs, equipment even, personnel, so its one of those things where were always looking at how to do things better, he says. Omaha, Nebraska If drivers hit a pothole and experience damage to their . Randy Seffron, behind, and John Helwig with the City of La Vista, drop hot asphalt into potholes on 84th Street. Omaha residents Mark and Janine Emmons said their car suffered a flat tire earlier this week from a pothole, and they immediately contacted the mayors helpline. A City of La Vista crew works to patch a stretch of 84th Street between Parkview Boulevard and Brentwood Drive. - Pothole complaints: 1.3 for every 1,000 km of road. Residents in the city of Jackson, Mississippi, have their own Twitter feed exclusively dedicated to creating a profile of the best, biggest, baddest, longest lasting potholes in Jackson. One pothole, in particular, has been in place so longtomatoes are growing in it. The section was at its worst in March, leading the City of Omaha to shut it down to rebuild the street, to the relief of neighbors. You may also like: Major newspaper headlines from the year you were born. Pothole Damage Costs US Drivers $3 Billion a Year. You may also like: Defining historical moments from the year you were born, - Pothole complaints: 11.4 for every 1,000 km of road. The home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is most well-known for its corn production. Jeff Robb dives into data for The World-Herald. You have permission to edit this article. Drivers are asked to contact the mayors hotline by emailing hotline@CityofOmaha.org to file a tire claim. Omaha is a city located in Douglas County and Sarpy County Nebraska.It is also the county seat of Douglas County.With a 2023 population of 509,178, it is the largest city in Nebraska and the 38th largest city in the United States. Car insurance might be an option; State Farm Insurance markets its coverage by poking fun at potholes in a commercial about the Clark Street Crater. According to the Insurance Information Institute, pothole damage is usually covered if you have collision coverage. [emailprotected]. But after years of never approving a pothole claim, the mayor announced the city would start paying for some of the damages caused by potholes. To see the location of pothole complaints . Here are some of the worst pothole locations, based on drivers complaints to the City of Omahas online hotline or as witnessed by others. - Pothole complaints: 23.4 for every 1,000 km of road. We never said we were going to pay every claim. I encountered an absolutely insane pothole just west of 72nd on Cass street earlier. A driver recently encountered just such a situation on I-85 that resulted in thousands of dollars of damage to his car. A day later, shes waiting on the mechanics to check it out. This Midwest flyover state has the advantage of a population spread out across it with metropolitan areas of no more than 400,000 denizens each. Its very frustrating, like really frustrating.. Precision Scheduled Railroading Is Railroad Cost-Cutting Dangerous? 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. And that means, in Omaha, there are plenty of opportunities to illustrate our city's biggest nemesis to drivers: potholes. In fact, while overall traffic was down during the pandemic, there was an uptick in the volume of truck traffic. The tally continued to fall in 2019 to 16,520 and again in 2020 with 12,500. But like hundreds of other drivers suffering pothole damage in Omaha, Bailey found it was a losing case. If your organization is interested in becoming a Stacker He encourages drivers to keep an eye out when workers are on the roads, too. - Pothole complaints: 15.5 for every 1,000 km of road. First, snow and ice melt and seep into the pavement. Like other flyover states, Kansas is also a freight-through state, meaning heavy truck and haul traffic still creates its fair share of potholes. Fewer than 40 were paid out. Councilman Ben Gray, who represents north Omaha, said this is one of the worst pothole seasons hes seen. Rev. Help. Furthermore, Mayor Jean Stothert tweeted on Feb. 24 that crews are filling potholes daily and everyone should be looking forward to putting pothole season behind us. 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? That section has reopened. New York City will only accept liability for property damage if the city was given written notice of the hazard and failed to repair it within 15 days, according to the Comptrollers Office. The filing fee is $104 and you can collect up to $20,000 if you win your . Take a photo of the damage done to your vehicle. You may also like: Countries that have mandatory voting, - Pothole complaints: 1.1 for every 1,000 km of road. . Pursuant to an update to New York State General Municipal Law 50-e, the Comptroller's Office provides for the electronic filing of claims against the City via the eClaim system. However, several people meeting the basic requirements are being denied for the same reason, Neb. As of May 24, more than half have been reviewed and assigned claim numbers, 104 offers of payment have been made for a total of $31,650.33 and $21,620.91 has been paid. Even so, the citys move to put pothole reports online shows it is receiving hundreds of notices about problem potholes specific potholes at locations identified on a map. Vancouver can't fix what it doesn't know is broken. Not a single pothole damage claim has been paid out in recent years, public records provided to The World-Herald show. Stat. Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. One should be forgiving to Alaskans for pothole being a relative term. 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.. 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. On Jan. 20, 2022, six city trade unions authorized a strike after contract negotiations with the city stalled. OMAHA, Neb. In all, 34 crews will be on pothole duty starting Monday, Stothert said. OMAHA, Neb. What is certain is that Nevada drivers are fed up with potholes and the state of roadways that make their fillings rattle. Watch out for those tire-blowing, rod-bending craters, Omaha hired private contractors to help fill potholes. Get at least two estimates from two different mechanics. - Pothole complaints: 20.5 for every 1,000 km of road. Phone: 402-444-1128. 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. In general, with the Lone Star State now suffering unprecedented winter storms, it looks like the situation is going to persist. Claims will be paid from the citys contingency fund. - Pothole complaints: 5 for every 1,000 km of road. The results of that investigation will determine the outcome and resolution of your claim. Shes also considering filing a claim with the city but wasnt sure how. Historically, the City of Omaha has not paid claims for vehicle damage, as allowed by the Political Subdivisions Tort Claims Act, according to a city news release. The Clunker Junker gave this a shot back in October 2021 with some help . Nonetheless, anticipation is half of preparation, and so NCDOT officials are ready for what it expects to be a spring influx of complaints. For years the city has cited this statute to deny almost all its claims. The state is tackling the issuefor example, a $6.5 restoration project is about to get underway to rescue 7 miles of road in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. The citys complaint website will stop the city from claiming ignorance about potholes, he said. One state senator likened driving around potholes to playing MarioKart with an actual risk of crashing. And residents feel the same way, with one referring to Rhode Island by the moniker the Pothole State. The Providence Journal recently tallied 13,000 potholes on just 17 roads since 2021. A January 2022 summary report from national transportation research nonprofit TRIP found that 40% of U.S. roadwaysencompassing highways, arterials, and local roadsare in poor or mediocre condition, and the result of this is an average cost to the single driver of $621 per year for vehicle repair and maintenance. But if its a dark and stormy night, or if youre messing with the radio dial, you might hear that sickening Clunk! 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. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. Rob Wilcox, a spokesman for Feuer's office, kindly rounded up some stats for Honk. Milder weather has returned, meaning potholes have returned. In practical terms, the city takes the position: Its never liable for damage to your car from pothole-riddled city streets. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. A January 2022 TRIP report estimates that poor road conditions cost the average driver $813 each year. If you have further questions, please call the Omaha Mayor's Hotline at 402-444-5555 or email: hotline@cityofomaha.org. 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. Rickey's ordeal started when he ran over a pothole on State Route 50. 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! Copyright 2023 WOWT. That doesnt cut it, he said. He felt his car driving differently. In the vast majority of cases, being startled is the only damage you will incur if you go over a pothole. In addition to denying 499 claims from 2014 through 2018, the city has rejected another 10 claims in 2019. Temps might be below freezing, but conditions are still right for potholes to pop up again. They are unsightly. So yes, it's true drivers can get reimbursed (although not necessarily for the full amount). The city has denied 156 claims, for reasons including the pothole was not within the Omaha city limits, was located in a private . 68114 Rowser says portions of Q street and Blondo have also undergone replacements, and areas that used to be major hubs for potholes are in much better condition and are safer for drivers. (WOWT) - Its not unusual for the city of Omaha to see potholes this time of year, but for many, it feels like theyre unavoidable. One reason is that so many local state communitiesamong them Great Falls, Missoula, Bozeman, and Butte-Silver Bowhave established pothole reporting programs to get the pesky tire-hitters filled in almost as quickly as they form. If the city denies your claim and your damages are significant head to small claims court. One pothole in the northern town of Decatur, Texas, was deep enough to hold its own Christmas tree. - Pothole complaints: 5.3 for every 1,000 km of road. There is no universal policy for pothole damage reimbursement, so in many cases damage done from a pothole won't be covered by the municipality. According to the citys database, on February 26th a pothole was reported on 72nd street. City expected 11 teams, but only 6 showed up, 'This is taxpayer money': Omaha said it would pay for pothole damage and claims rushed in, BAM! Those, coupled with very hot summers, together collude to make a punishing environment for the states asphalt roads. If your car has experienced damage from a pothole, you can file a report and a claim with the city here. The department is devoting more than half of its $16.4 capital budget to maintaining degraded roads and other infrastructure. 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. The Office of Corporation Council says in 2022, 900 pothole claims were filed. (KMTV) Mayor Jean Stothert announced Monday afternoon the city of Omaha will be paying for pothole claims on vehicles made against the city between January 1 and March 18 of 2019. Rather, he was referring to the banana tree he planted inside one pothole outside his business. If you hit a bad one, you may need anything from a simple flat-tire fix to extensive wheel and suspension repairs. 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." (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). Most recently, 72nd street south of Dodge to Center street and I-80 has had panels of road replaced. However, we did not have a typical winter, Stothert said in the release. 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. You know people are fed up with potholes when they take matters into their own hands. Plattsmouth breaks ground on new wastewater treatment facility. 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. Filing a pothole damage claim is easy, but whether or not you should do so is something you should consider. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Omaha is starting work at accident-prone 132nd and . Typically during and after the winter months, potholes are repaired quickly. "We don't cause the potholes," Mayor Stothert said. One in 7 Ohioans owes their living to agriculture, and as corn is a staple ingredient in not just food you find in the supermarket, but ethanol and the feed that powers the livestock industry as well, the state is a veritable topography of truck routes. 17 days later, Suann Witt hit a pothole 100 feet down the road from there. When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. A link for the application is located on the Omaha City Clerk's website. Even then, you would have to pay your insurance deductible, which just might be higher than the damage, and perhaps then pay higher premiums. Read our, Tips for City, County, or State Pothole Damage Reimbursement. The Oklahoma communities of Yukon and Piedmont have been up in arms about potholes for some time. ! the post reads. 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. Bits of broken wheel cover in a pothole in the northbound lanes of 144th between Q and U Streets. Imagine this: $28 billion per year, thats how much national transportation nonprofit TRIP estimates New York drivers are losing in extra vehicle operating costs due to deteriorated and congested roads, as well as roads that lack appropriate safety features. Tennessee is another four-season state, and as such it suffers all the contributing factors to pothole development. Crews patched potholes in the street Monday. The City of Omaha has received 38 damage claims so far this year. The next stretch of road that will be repaired under the bond is 72nd street north of Dodge, Rowser says. You may also like: Oldest national parks in America, - Pothole complaints: 7.7 for every 1,000 km of road. Most of the solutions for potholes are temporary fixes - asphalt cold patches, tar and asphalt combinations, and occasionally concrete. Potholes start forming in winter and early spring temperatures change frequently. 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. 21 of those claims were paid at a cost of $8,205.94. The Land of 10,000 Lakes is a regular target of this wintertime nuisance, but the Minnesota Department of Transportations preventive maintenance program has found success in getting in front of degraded roads before cracks make for asphalt fields of potholes. "I hit the pothole and it was pretty bad," said Nauslar. How Long Do You Have To Report a Car Accident? Its the freeze and thaw cycle. You can reach that office by calling (804) 646-7940. "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. Manage 12,580 traffic signals. Pothole damage? City of Omaha Public Works Department 1819 Farnam Street, Suite #600 | Omaha, NE 68183 . Claim for $115.20: Rejected. "8 Signs of Pothole Damage.". When a pothole complaint is made, Rowsers team typically fills it within five to seven days, but they prioritize major roads and intersections, or potholes that are extremely large or damaging. But its not just along this corridor that potholes are a problem. World-Herald editorial cartoonist is always on top of the latest news. - Pothole complaints: 18.7 for every 1,000 km of road. People may remember Jim Champion, known around Omaha as The Auto Guy from WOWT a few years ago. Claim for $255.73: Rejected. Nevada is in line to receive $4 billion in infrastructure funding over the next five years, though exactly how much of that will go to roads is yet uncertain. This island state, despite having fewer roadway miles than any other state per capita, nonetheless has a generally underbuilt road system, which has resulted in one-third of roads being in poor condition. Be sure to note the exact location including the route, mile marker, and any nearby cross streets or interchanges.