Sunny, warm and dry weather returned to Los Angeles this week, but drivers all over the are encountering jarring reminders of a rain season for the record books.
The storms left Los Angeles with an obstacle course of potholes and lot of work for street services repair crews. Mayor Karen Bass plans to speak Thursday morning about that repair work on potholes and other damage from the winter and early spring storms.
The mayor is scheduled to speak at an 8:30 a.m. news conference about pothole repairs and other work on city streets damaged by the historic storms. Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez will join Bass in Mission Hills.
After the initial wave of storms in January, Los Angeles received more than 3,400 complaints about potholes. Last year, a total of 824 drivers filed pothole claims with the city.
Los Angeles has a system in place for residents to notify the city about potholes. State law allows the city “sufficient time” to fix a pothole after authorities are notified. The city told NBCLA it is committed to repairing potholes within three days.
Of the 800-plus claims filed in 2022, the city only paid 182 of them, about 22%. The year before, the city paid just 24% of pothole claims.
Filing a Pothole Claim With City of LA
- File a claim.
- Be sure to include as much documentation as possible, like repair bills and pictures.
- The city may request more documentation.
- The city’s response will come in four to six weeks.
- For LA County drivers, a repair request can be made online by filling out a form.
How Potholes Form
Potholes typically form when water sinks into cracks in asphalt, then soaked up by the mixture of rock, gravel and sand supporting the street.
The weight of cars passing over the road force water through the roadbed, causing erosion. Asphalt then sinks into the eroded areas and cracked under the weight of passing cars.
That’s when chunks of the road come loose and a pothole forms. The hole can be filled with patching material.
Source: NBC Los Angeles
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