A bumpy drive in the Star City: A pothole problem

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ROANOKE (WSLS10) - Local road crews said the combination of snow plows and spring thaws have created potholes across the region.

When driving downtown, Roanoke resident Alyshia Merchant said she buckles up for a bumpy ride.

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"Recently, I lost the hubcap to my car over there," said Merchant. "I was downtown headed to my doctor's appointment, I hit a pothole and I lost my hubcap."

Management at Roanoke City Public Works said there's more potholes than they can fix. Since the start of the year, road crews have filled about 550 potholes. The department's Transportation Division Director Mark Jamison told us they have about the same number to go and it grows everyday as more are reported.

"For every pothole that we fix, we find five or six more," said Jamison. "There's a whole lot more potholes out there than we can address in a reasonable amount of time. And, we're not quite meeting our performance goals at this point."

Jamison said the department's received about 230 requests to lay asphalt across the city. Last year crews filled 3,700 ruts and 3,200 in 2014. Jamison added there's the chance some roads won't get fixed.

"We tend to spend most of our paving money on the major streets that carry most of the traffic volume," Jamison told us. "So, in general the pavement on those streets is a little bit better than our neighborhood streets."

Jamison said the goal is to fix 90% of the potholes by June.

Public Works said if you see a pothole, give them a call so road crews can repair it. You can email the department at: transportation@roanokeva.gov or you can call: 853.2000 ext. 3.