Tennessee highway officials are asking drivers to bear with them until they can get to all of the potholes caused by recent rains and freezing temperatures. TDOT is calling the situation a “worse case” scenario.
Drivers often have few options to skirt holes while in traffic, even big ones. Joey Ciccoline hit a pothole on I-40 near downtown Nashville.
“It was a really intense impact, but later I went and looked at the tire and saw the tire was damaged. There was a bulge in it,” says Ciccoline.
Ciccoline had to replace that tire. Over the past two weeks, repair shops say they’ve seen a steady stream of flats and even bent wheels.
Aaron Lane from Bass Tire partners with a nearby body shop on Nolensville
Road when wheels have been dented. According to Lane, the two shops are back-logged for about a week out. “They are staying busy and we are too,” says Lane.
TDOT has been patching the potholes, working in the rain and on weekends. But highway officials warn that these are temporary patches that won’t be made permanent until the weather warms up for good.
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