A Pothole Blitz is Coming to State Maintained Roads

• The South Carolina Department of Transportation will begin a "pothole blitz" in the coming weeks to repair potholes across the state.

• Citizens can report potholes to the South Carolina Department of Transportation online or by phone.

• The South Carolina Department of Transportation only maintains state-owned roads, so citizens should report potholes on county or city roads to the appropriate local government.

• Potholes can cause damage to vehicles, especially tires, struts, and wheels.

• Drivers should be aware of SCDOT crews working on roads and slow down near them.

The South Carolina Department of Transportation maintains more than 41,000 miles of roadway across the state. As we all know, sometimes these roads become marred by potholes.

The SCDOT is set to embark on a “pothole blitz” in the coming weeks to shore up as many roads as possible in all 46 counties.

If there is a road where you would like a work crew to fix a pothole, you can submit your request by following instructions at the DOT’s website or by calling (855) 467-2368.

Keep in mind that the DOT works only on state-maintained roads.

If there’s a pothole or other problem on a road owned by a county or city, you may want to contact the appropriate local government. For example, Spartanburg County government has an online form for making road work requests.

Potholes can, of course, be more than a nuisance – they can damage cars and endanger the public.

“We had a car in just last week where the wheel was bent, apparently from hitting a pothole,” said Al Harris, owner of Harris Automotive.

“Potholes can cause damage to anything suspension-related – struts, wheels, alignment. You see busted tires. And if you have to swerve to miss a pothole, it could cause a collision.”

Hannah Robinson, media relations manager with the SCDOT, said the agency takes road repair requests year-round.

But this is a good time of year to make an extra push on basic maintenance, she said.