A mechanic FOX 43 spoke to said it's only a temporary fix.
A subframe belonging to a 1999 Chrysler LHS at Monro Auto Service and Tire Center has seen better days.
“What happened here,” Matt Livingston, Inspection Mechanic, said. “The gentleman hit on his left side a pothole so hard it actually bent his subframe right here, and that completely messed up his alignment.'
No surprise, said Mike Crochunis of PennDOT. It's "pothole season.”
“They’re hard to miss,” Crochunis said. “You really can’t drive around them and when traffic is tight and you’re driving at 60 mph or 55 mph it’ll really give you a jolt.”
But mother nature did them a favor.
“So we’ve been seeing a lot of temperature fluctuation and some very wet days,” Chrochunis said. “And fortunately today we have a warmish, dry day and we can get out there and take care of some of these pothole issues.”
Crews were able to work on both the south and north bound lanes of I-83 near Mount Rose Avenue. Especially in the southbound lane, where traffic has been shifted onto old pavement because of construction.
But Livingston said it doesn't matter.
“I mean even once we get well into summer we still see these problems from these potholes that were created during the winter time,” Livingston said.
He fixes cars with pothole problems at least 2-3 times a week, sometimes daily.
“Top things I see,” Livingston said. “It’s tires getting ruined, the rims getting broken, suspension issues obviously, broken tie rod ends, broken struts, shocks.”
Best case scenario: $150 for a cheap tire.
Worst case scenario: $1,500 to replace a part of your frame.
“I mean it makes everybody a little frustrated,” Livingston said. “Obviously the owner of the car, they’re now without a car. They know they’re going to have a huge bill, and it’s just hard. You know you’re going to have to break that to them and nobody wants to tell anyone bad news.”
Livingston said if you absolutely can't dodge a pothole, try to slow down as much as possible before hitting it.
Crews won’t be able to fill anymore potholes until the weather is warmer.
