A cavernous pothole on Powell Avenue, a stretch of W.Va. 7 shortly before it turns into Brockway Avenue, was patched on Thursday but not before it damaged at least two cars in the span of a week.
Jackson Montgomery said he was driving home from Kroger on Wednesday night when he struck the pothole near Ralph’s Beer Distribution.
“There was traffic in the oncoming lane so I couldn’t go around it,” he said.
Despite traveling the speed limit, 35 mph, Montgomery said he popped a tire and pulled into Tranquility Mobile Home Park to change it. That’s when Tina Taylor, the park’s owner, told him he was the second person to change a tire in the park that week.
The tire was able to be reused but repairing the rim cost Montgomery $150.51.
Taylor told The Dominion Post earlier in the week a woman with out-of-state plates pulled in with a rim bent so badly she could clearly see the damage from her porch. Someone came and helped her change her tire, Taylor said.
She expressed concern about the pothole and the potential danger it presents to bikers, especially with MountainFest this weekend. Taylor said she and her husband both ride. Four motorcycles line her driveway.
“If I hit a pothole like that it’s gonna put me off that bike and I’ll probably break my neck and die,” Taylor said.
The pothole in question was filled on Thursday afternoon, sometime after The Dominion Post contacted the West Virginia Division of Highways about it. District 4 Engineer Darby Clayton said he wasn’t sure if the pothole being filled was planned maintenance but the repair was not a response to The Dominion Post’s inquiry and likely just a coincidence.
The pothole was only filled with fresh asphalt and not completely repaired. It is still uneven with the road and numerous other potholes in the area were untouched. Questions about when and if there are plans to address that section of W. Va. 7 were not answered in time for this report.
There is a way for people who damage their vehicles on a state road to get reimbursed though the West Virginia Legislative Claims Commission.
A claim form can be obtained from www.legis.state.wv.us/
joint/claimscommission.cfm. The form requests information such as when and where the accident happened, insurance information, what happened, why the DOH should be liable and the amount of reimbursement requested. Only actual damages can be claimed.
All receipts, estimates, bills and the like must be attached to the form. The claim can be mailed or emailed.
A representative from the claims commission could not be reached in time for this report.
In other pothole news:
Pleasant Street at the intersection of U.S. 19 and U.S. 119 will be closed 7 a.m.-noon on Monday and 7 a.m. Tuesday to 5 p.m. Friday to repair a pothole that spans nearly the width of the road. Alternate routes are Foundry and Fayette streets.
Pot holes atthe intersection of University and Pleasant street.
