Potholes have been appearing on streets all over the city of Memphis making it harder and possibly dangerous for some commuters to make it to class each day. Those who observe potholes can call the city at 311 to report it and get it paved or call the Tennessee Department of Transportation at 731-935-0205 if the potholes are on the interstate.
Moisture from Memphis’ previous weather has brought in a wave of dangerous potholes to roads across the area. These potholes have been known to cause various levels of damage to vehicles as well as the wallets of their drivers forced to pay for repairs.
The streets surrounding the University of Memphis are not immune to the effects of potholes, and U of M commuters are taking notice. Commuter Deborah Noel, a 19-year-old broadcast journalism major from Memphis, said she was “concerned†about her daily commute to and from the U of M because potholes have made for poor maneuverability on the streets.
“I’ve never crashed or anything, but I have damaged a wheel from those potholes,†Noel said. “There’s some pretty big ones off Southern, and I park off Southern the most. They just put these metal slabs over them. I have to slow down to like five miles per hour to keep my car from flipping over.â€
Despite these claims, some Memphians like Noel think the city could do a better job at ridding the streets of the potholes.
“I don’t think they’re really doing a good job on these potholes,†Noel said. “They spend their money doing so much else. Potholes don’t just take over the city. In just two or three days, potholes are reopening. My commute’s not dangerous, but those potholes — they have to up their game.â€
In light of the onslaught of potholes on Memphis streets, the City of Memphis assures residents that multiple crews are working towards fixing the problem. These crews have already paved more than 15,000 potholes, averaging about 500 potholes per day in recent efforts, according to the City of Memphis. The city claims to have doubled the street paving budget to $18.5 million since 2014 and to have moved crews off other jobs such as cleaning up litter for the sole purpose of filling potholes.
Firestone Tire and Rubber Company retail salesman James Beasley said he noted a sharp increase in customers coming in for tire and rim repairs due to pothole accidents, stating that the auto shop was “swamped†with business. Beasley said the best way to avoid pothole damage on the road, apart from simply dodging them, is to drive “cautiously.â€
“There’s not too much you can do but drive careful and watch,†Beasley said. “I drive slow in the event I do come upon one, that way I might just hit it but not hit it hard because when you hit it hard, you’re talking about a 3,000 pound car hitting something — it’s going to tear up a tire. Tailgating people, that’s not good because if you’re driving too close, both of you are going to hit it.â€
Potholes pose an infamous presence on Memphis streets with a history of blowing out tires and causing hundreds of dollars in repairs for damaged rims and other parts. These obstructions can be increasingly dangerous when their presence and depth are masked by rainwater or ice, making them less visible to drivers. Even when potholes are dodged, drivers still run the risk of veering off the road or moving too far into other lanes and hitting other vehicles.
Potholes are created when water seeps into the asphalt through cracks in the pavement and freezes below it. The freezing water causes the asphalt to rise and expand, weakening the pavement when the water melts, eventually causing patches to collapse under the weight of oncoming traffic. Due to various days of ice, snow and spurts of heavy rain, Memphis roads have been exposed to high amounts of water during the winter months, causing an alarming number of potholes to appear.
Scott Summerford, technician at Steele-Guiltner Tire Pros, an auto repair and tire service in Memphis, said the roads are “dangerous.â€
“It’s pothole country in Memphis,†Summerford said. “Potholes can do a lot — damage tie rod ends, subframes, ball joints.â€
The City of Memphis encourages people to report any potholes, regardless of whether they think the city is aware of them or not, in order to get them filled as soon as possible. Although MLGW only takes responsibility for holes caused by its work and not general potholes, according to a Facebook statement issued by the company March 2, drivers can report potholes to the City of Memphis directly by dialing 3-1-1, using the Memphis 311 app or making a request at the Memphis 311 website.
A map on the website SeeClickFix, where the city of Memphis has its residents report issues, shows 94 reported potholes in a radius around the University of Memphis. The blue circles are reported potholes that have been paved, and the green circles have not yet been closed by the city.
Reporting potholes may not only help clear them off the road but could also pay off for drivers if they find themselves with pothole damage. If a driver were to hit a pothole and suffer damage to their vehicle, the city may actually pay repair costs or reimburse the driver for damages if they properly file a claim. However, claims only have a chance of going through if the pothole was reported to the city before the accident and put in the city’s records.
WMC Action News 5 reported Feb. 28 that no pothole claims had been paid by the city in 2018 because many accidents occurred with potholes unlisted in city records. With new potholes continuing to appear and taking drivers by surprise, simply avoiding them may prove to be the best tactic in evading damage and expenses.
