ELYRIA — As the first flakes of snow fell Friday, Safety Service Director Chris Eichenlaub was worrying about potholes.

“If we get enough snow tonight, they’ll put the blades down on the plows,” Eichenlaub said. “That would rip up all the patching we’ve done in the last 12 days.”

Eichenlaub said he’s been running two or three road crews a day — even on Saturdays — for the last few weeks, trying to patch the gaping potholes dotting the city’s streets.

Potholes form when the ground freezes and thaws over and over again, he said. Snow storms and warm-ups caused headaches in February and March, and Eichenlaub said flooding in the past two weeks hasn’t exactly helped.

“It’s an ongoing battle with the weather,” he said. “We’ve got all hands on deck right now trying to handle it.”

Unfortunately, the battle has had casualties.

Assistant Law Director Honey Rothschild said 19 people have filed moral claims since Jan. 1, asking Elyria to pay them for the damages chuckholes caused to their vehicles.

That’s a fairly typical number for this time of the year, she said.

Most of those were filed in a recent clump — with three or four being filed a day in the last week or so, Rothschild said. Many are related to damage suffered as a result of driving on state Route 57, Rothschild said.

So far, none of the claims has been paid, she said.

They all have to be reviewed by the city Law Department, and then City Council must decide whether they have merit. Rothschild said it can take up to six months before a reimbursement check is issued. The most the city will pay is $500, city officials said.

On Friday, city workers were unable to say how many pothole-related claims were paid as a result of damage that occurred last winter.

Rothschild said she’s fed up with potholes, too, but she’s learning to dodge them. Work crews have patched holes on Hartford Drive where she lives several times already, and the weather’s destroyed those fixes each time, she said.

“Under the law, the city cannot guarantee a perfect road forever,” she said. “It’s a privilege to drive on the roads, and it’s up to you to have some responsibility and dodge those potholes.”

Contact Jason Hawk at 329-7148 or jhawk@chroniclet.com.

 

---

Print this story
Report an inappropriate comment

---

In order to comment, you must agree to our user agreement and discussion guidelines.

Need help? Email Us.

---