Potholes popping up around Houston

HOUSTON (FOX 26) - It's around this time every year that most cities expect to see potholes popping up all over, and our recent winter weather isn’t helping any.

Several factors play into potholes showing up from the ground shifting to prolonged periods of cold weather or precipitation. Houston Public Works says it’s too early to say if our recent winter weather contributed to more potholes. Regardless, they’re certainly not hard to find and can do a number on your car.

“In regards to suspension, you know, struts, shocks, ball joints, control arms - all that stuff wears prematurely," says Rusk Elatassi who's the Owner of River Oaks Tire & Auto.

“Around Houston there’s a lot of potholes. I mean, they need to fix these streets. I don’t know what’s going on," said one driver who avoided a pothole near Westheimer and Weslayan.

During his campaign, Mayor Turner made it a goal to address the pothole problem in the city.

Houston Public Works says a team of 80 people work specifically on potholes. Crews can fill up to 300 a day. Still, that’s not enough.

Several drivers speaking to FOX 26 saying they've experienced several problems with their cars because of the consistent rough ride the occurs on Houston streets.

“I just had to replace the struts, actually. Both of them were completely bent,” said one driver.

“I honestly just had to replace a rim due to hitting a pothole,” said another.

It’s a problem, that doesn’t seem to going away anytime soon, especially since there are 16,000 lane miles that Houston Public Works is responsible for, totaling the distance from here to Tokyo and back.

So for some advice - keep your eyes peeled and report one when you see one. You can also dial 3-1-1 or use the City of Houston app to report a pothole. Last year, around 5,200 potholes were reported by drivers and it helps the city stay on top of them.