INDIANAPOLIS — If you drive anywhere in Indianapolis, you have probably hit a pothole or several this week. The freezing and thawing temperatures are causing once-patched holes to bust open.
Right now, the Indianapolis Department of Public Works is responding to more than 1,400 requests.
Drivers that 13News spoke with said they are dodging these massive craters left and right.
"Automatic blowouts, you know, very bad," one driver said.
"It's a dreaded sound. I get a sound in the pit of my stomach," another driver said.
Pothole season is a dreadful time in Indiana, and if you hit one, it's not cheap.
Just ask Butler University student Hailey Almodovar, who found herself stuck on Westfield Boulevard Thursday night.
"A couple seconds later, we hear a noise, and we pull over and the tire is completely blown," Almodovar said. "I am going after work and spending about $200 to $300 on a new tire."
From bent rims to popped tires, Joseph Woodson has fixed them all over the years as owner and operator of Eastside Tires and Wheels.
"If it is something to do with a pothole, they're coming up, rolling in on a flat. One to two flats usually, just depending on where it actually got them," Woodson said.
He said just this week alone, he's seen a huge increase in people coming to his shop with pothole damage.
"I've seen a lot of side walls blown out, rims bent in and veed up really bad. It's been pretty bad around here," Woodson said.
When it comes to filling the giant potholes, Indy DPW said it's a never-ending job.
Corey Ohlenkamp said the department is using this warmer stretch of weather to catch up with the growing list of potholes.
"As soon as they got the snow equipment put away, we said, 'Here is a shovel. Here is a tamper. We need you out on the roads fixing those potholes,'" Ohlenkamp said. "So, it's a major ask for our crews, but they know it is something we face every year, and we will keep doing that as we need to."
Right now, crews are using what is called a "cold mix" until the asphalt plants are back open. The difference is how well the material bonds to the existing roadway. That prevents water from getting back into them and destroying the patch.
"If we can keep the water out of the hole and keep that from refreezing, we can keep the road in a lot better shape," Ohlenkamp said.
Indy DPW said the biggest help is drivers reporting the problem. You can do that through the Mayor's Action Center.
In 2023, Indy DPW completed 17,963 pothole service requests. In December 2023 alone, crews responded to 566 pothole service requests.
You can find a map of all the potholes in Indianapolis here.
If you hit a pothole and damage your car, you can actually file a claim with the city through the Mayor's Action Center. However, very few claims are actually paid out.