NY Ranks #10 Nationwide In Pothole Problems: Report

LONG ISLAND, NY — A new study indicates that New York State ranks #10 in the nation when it comes to pothole-pitted roadways.

According to the report by QuoteWizard, pothole damage costs drivers nationwide about $3 billion per year.

"We found that New York ranks 10th when it comes to the worst pothole problems," QuoteWizard said.

Topping the list is Michigan, the study added.

The New York State Department of Transportation explained that potholes are formed primarily due to infiltration of water into pavements through cracks in the surface. Cold weather causes the water to freeze, creating a bulge in the pavement. When the temperature warms above freezing, the pavement surface returns to its original level. Subsequent freeze-thaw cycles weaken the pavement material and a pothole forms.

The process repeats itself during subsequent freeze-thaw cycles and potholes become worse and more numerous. Heavy traffic also contributes to the creation of new potholes and the worsening of existing ones.

To determine where potholes are most prevalent, the Quotewizard team analyzed Google search statistics over the last year, representatives for the group said.

According to the report, New York City ranks 7th and Syracuse ranks 44th. Also, Quotewizard said, drivers between 35 and 44 hit the most potholes — and nationally, the average bill for pothole repairs hovers around $306, but in New York, that amount is higher, around $632, Gov. Kathy Hochul said earlier this year.

QuoteWizard also gave tips on how to minimize pothole damage, including making sure tires are properly inflated; checking that tread grooves are deep enough; and slowing down in avoiding a pothole isn't possible.

In October, Long Islanders who've had enough of hair-raising, pothole plagued commutes on area roadways were told they might soon see improvements: Hochul announced that an $80 million Long Island Expressway pavement renewal project has been completed one month ahead of schedule.

A major Southern State Parkway pavement project was also completed that week, she said.

In April, Hochul announced a$157 million investment in pavement renewal projects islandwide.

In October, Hochul said that the $80.1 million resurfacing project on the Long Island Expressway from the Nassau-Suffolk border to State Route 112 in Suffolk County was now complete.

In April, the New York State Department of Transportation began work on the "critical project", which was completed six months after initial work began and one month ahead of schedule, Hochul said.

Hochul also announced that the major pavement renewal project on the Southern State Parkway in Nassau and Suffolk Counties was slated to be completed in October. This year, more than 442 lane miles of state roads across Long Island have been repaved with new asphalt, totaling $121.6 million., she said.

"Smoother roads are ahead with the ahead-of-schedule completion of this transformative repaving project for Long Islanders," Hochul said. "We are putting historic infrastructure investments to work to repair our roads, pave our potholes, and deliver the quality, reliable infrastructure New Yorkers deserve."

In her inaugural State of the State Address this year, Hochul prioritized investing in New York's infrastructure and fighting the "scourge of potholes" across the state, allocating $1 billion over five years.

Under a new program called Pave Our Potholes, $500 million was allocated for local roads and $500 million for state highways. The program, which was officially launched with the passage of the state budget in April, has already allocated $111 million to pave more than 793 lane miles of state and local roads during the current fiscal year, with more requests for reimbursement still to come for work completed by localities across New York, Hochul said.

That was in addition to other state programs and other programmed capital projects across the state.

Statewide, from August 2021 through the end of 2022, more than 3,700 lane miles of roads have been or are expected to be resurfaced.

On the Long Island Expressway, paving crews began in the eastbound direction on April 19 at the Nassau and Suffolk County line near Exit 48 and proceeded to mill away the old pavement and place new asphalt along the Long Island Expressway's three main travel lanes, the high-occupancy vehicle, or HOV, lane, shoulders, and 62 on/off ramps.

Work then began in the westbound lanes from State Route 112 at Exit 64 towards the Nassau County border, which was just completed on October 20, completing over 286 lane miles total. The new, smoother asphalt riding surface, which is expected to last at least 10 years, also includes new highly reflective pavement markings and rumble strips on the shoulders, Hochul explained.

In addition, October marked the completion of the third Southern State Parkway resurfacing project in the last two years, totaling over 121 lane miles, Hochul said. The two latest sections of the Southern State Parkway completed this year—Grand Avenue/Baldwin Road, or Exit 20, to State Route 110, or Exit 32),in Nassau County and State Route 231, Exit 39, and the Sagtikos State Parkway,(Exit 41A),in Suffolk County — will provide South Shore motorists with a "smoother ride," Hochul said.

In other areas of Long Island, Hochul announced in August that six of 10 locations slated for resurfacing this spring had been renewed, some ahead of schedule. Since then, two other projects have finished, including a resurfacing project on State Route 111 between the Long Island Expressway and Suffolk Avenue in the Town of Islip, as well as shoulder rehabilitation work on the Meadowbrook State Parkway between Merrick Road and Ocean Parkway in the Town of Hempstead.

Two pavement projects totaling $26.4 million, which also kicked off in the spring, are proceeding and set for completion in 2023. The first includes full depth concrete repairs on 55 Southern State Parkway entrance and exit ramps in both Nassau and Suffolk Counties; the second includes pavement resurfacing with sidewalk ramp safety enhancements on State Route 109 between the Nassau/Suffolk border and State Route 27A in the Town of Babylon.

Also, a $7.3 million concrete restoration and repair project is underway between State Route 112 and Yaphank Avenue/Suffolk County Route 21, Exits 64 to 67, in the Town of Brookhaven.

Scheduled for completion in the spring of 2024, the concrete riding surface will be renewed with diamond grinding the pavement to remove imperfections and replacing deteriorated sections of concrete where necessary.

Earlier this year, Hochul announced the "most transformative project on the Long Island Expressway in recent memory," reconstructing Exit 53 to add access ramps to Crooked Hill Road, or Suffolk County Route 13.

In April, lawmakers spoke out on the news. "After years of neglect and decay, our roadways are now at their breaking point, and Long Islanders are fed up with paying for constant and costly vehicle repairs," said New York State Assemblymember Fred Thiele. "This long overdue funding will go a long way towards restoring our roads to the condition we deserve and expect."

Hochul reminded motorists to use caution in work zones. In addition, fines are doubled for speeding in a work zone. Convictions of two or more speeding violations in a work zone could result in the suspension of an individual's driver license, she said.

The pothole problem has grown in past months, according to motorists, elected officials, and automobile repair shops alike. The issue is so pervasive that Hochul, at a January Long Island Association "State of the Region" breakfast, addressed Long Island's potholes directly, specifically those found on the Long Island Expressway.

"I have a personal experience with every single pothole, especially on the LIE," Hochul said, mentioning that she had been sitting in a tire repair shop recently because of a blowout that cost about $500.

"We're coming after the potholes," she said. "Enough is enough."

Hochul said New Yorkers spend about $632 a year because of road damage done to their vehicles."Let's just come at this with a vengeance," she said at the time. "We are going to go from 'Potholes to Not-Holes,'" Hochul said, adding that she was putting $1 billion behind the effort to pave roadways statewide.

To view the entire QuoteWizard report, click here.