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I-65 pothole causes blown tires, damaged rims and upset drivers

Posted at 12:25 PM, Jan 20, 2017
and last updated 2017-01-20 17:39:11-05

INDIANAPOLIS – With salt and road treatments, comes a driver’s worst nightmare – potholes, and let’s just say they've befriended a great deal of roads in the Indianapolis area.

On Friday morning, several drivers were forced to pull off onto the shoulder of I-65 because of blown tires and damaged rims after striking a pot hole.

Upset drivers said the pothole was located on I-65 southbound just before the Southport Road exit.

Jeff Miller of Greenwood was one of the drivers who hit the pothole. He said his rim was heavily damaged along with the tires of the vehicle in front of him.

“I had just took my wife to the bus stop so she could go to Tennessee this morning, and I was heading back to Emerson Avenue to go to dialysis and I didn’t even see it,” said Miller. “It was raining and I hit that thing and ‘pop’…tire just blew. I tried my best to get off the road so no one would hit me."

A cluster of potholes was also reported at 12th and Delaware Streets near interstate ramps.

Officials at theIndianapolis Department of Public Works said due to the weather, they will not be able to patch potholes this weekend as planned.

“I wish we could patch tomorrow, but we can’t. It was truly part of our plan, but it’s just too wet and soggy right now. The patching material would never stick," said Betsy Whitmore. 

RELATED | MAP: There are SO MANY potholes in Indianapolis | Most of Indianapolis is unhappy to see potholes. Not Lindsey Lewis.

You can report potholes to one of INDOT's six district offices.

 

Check what district that section of road belongs to, then click here to find the correct phone number or email address.

If the road is an Indianapolis city road, you'll need to report it to the city. 

Do that by clicking here, then find the spot on the road with the pothole.

Under certain circumstances, you can be reimbursed for damaged caused to your car by a pothole. 

But be warned, it's rare to receive that check from Indianapolis.

PREVIOUS | CALL 6: Indy approves few pothole damage claims

Only about 6 percent, or 1 out of every 17 claims gets paid out. 

There were 215 tort claims filed for pothole damage in the City of Indianapolis in 2016.

Call 6 Investigates found that 202 of those claims were denied, four were paid, and nine are still being looked into.

The total amount paid out for the claims was $813.58.