HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Pothole season has arrived in central Virginia and it’s putting drivers at high risk of a breakdown or blowing a tire — you probably have a few that come to mind as you think about your daily commute.
On Wednesday March 6, Dyric Ramirez captured a video of a gray SUV going over a group of potholes near the corner of Monument Avenue and Staples Mill Road in western Henrico County. In the video, you can hear a tire loudly pop as the SUV approaches a stop light.
“This is a weather pattern we typically see in the spring, but this year, we’re already getting calls from members with tire troubles related to potholes,” said Morgan Dean, a spokesperson for AAA Mid-Atlantic.
According to Henrico County Department of Public Works, the potholes stemmed from a paving contractor working for the City of Richmond mistakenly milling a section of Monument Avenue in Henrico. Reports of potholes came into Henrico the same night the video was taken and they closed the road to fill the potholes.
Henrico resident Richard Spencer was driving down Monument Avenue on the night of March 6 and said that, when he drove over the potholes in his green truck, he also thought he damaged his car — but luckily that wasn’t the case.
“It was just like, ‘Boom,’” said Spencer. “That pothole was invisible, that’s why everybody was hitting it. And there was no warning, no signs or anything.”
That pothole is just one of 1,381 that have been filled in Henrico County so far in 2024, compared to 6,870 potholes filled in 2023.
The director of RVA311, Peter Briel, said due to the record rain we experienced this year, the Richmond Department of Public Works has had less opportunity to repair potholes.
In 2023, repair crews filled 1400 pothole requests in Richmond through RVA311 and 8,728 pothole were filled by city road crews. So far this year, there have been 598 potholes reported to the city.
To report a pothole in Richmond, you can call the 311 call center Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., submit a request through the public portal RVA311.com or submit a request through the RVA311 mobile app.
Any residents who have had damage caused to their cars in Henrico should reach out to Henrico County Risk Management to make sure their claim is directed to the right party.
