State, local officials working to fill potholes on Lowcountry roads

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – State and local officials are working to fix major pothole problems that continue to cause issues for Lowcountry drivers leading to flat tires and larger issues for those traveling the roads.

Potholes of all sizes from large to small causing issues for drivers. Drivers say it’s a constant problem they’re experiencing on the roads, officials say it’s a work in progress to address the problems.

“I feel like in Charleston, you need to have an all terrain vehicle with all the potholes,” says Lynn Kornya.

Kornya says the potholes she sees have become constant issues on local roads.

“I have heard of people having issues with a popped tire, with the balance in their car having to get their car realigned as well as shocks and absorbers,” says Kornya. “So it is a problem.”

At the state level, Transportation Secretary Christy Hall says SCDOT is increasing spending to improve pavement statewide and has tackled more than 700 miles of rural roads so far.

Local officials with the City of Charleston say flooding on roadways is the biggest cause for the growing road issues.

“Where we see a lot of flooding, we see a lot of potholes there from the water sitting and weakening the asphalt,” says Matt Alltop, Superintendent of Environmental Services, Roads and Sidewalks for the City of Charleston.

Alltop says his crews work 365 days a year fielding requests to fill potholes and then finding the holes and packing them with asphalt.

“We select an area each day and go out there and ride through the areas and fill what we find,” says Alltop.

The pour and pack method doesn’t serve as a long-term solution according to Alltop but he says it’s one to decrease issues for drivers rolling down the road.

“We use hot asphalt and we square cut the holes and put it down in there,” says Alltop. “It just depends on the size of the pothole and how long it takes.”

Across the city, Alltop says on average his agency will fill roughly 3,500 potholes in the City of Charleston a year in order to keep the Lowcountry rolling. He says so far, the city has received 73 requests in 2022.

If you do see a pothole on a City of Charleston road, you’re asked to report it to the city at 843-pot-hole or 843-724-7311. City crews will come out in fix it within a day or two.