More than a dozen vehicles were damaged when they struck a pothole along westbound Interstate 70 near the Paseo Sunday, bringing traffic to a crawl.
One of the vehicles damaged belonged to Janet Baker.
“We hit [the pothole] and were like ‘oh my gosh.’ We thought we would have a flat tire for sure,” she said. “My rim was bent and we had a bubble on the tire. My son had a big bubble on his tire.”
According to the Kansas City District of the Missouri Department of Transportation, crews first responded to the pothole on Saturday by closing the lane and putting a patch. However, the wet weather caused the patch to come loose Sunday.
"When you have saturated pavement, it’s hard to get anything to stick to it,” said Jimmy Shannon, assistant district maintenance engineer for MoDOT.
Shannon said crews repaired the pothole once again Sunday. Because it was better weather conditions, he said crews were able to do a more permanent repair.
MoDOT was not the only agency dealing with potholes in the metro due to the wet weather.
On Monday, six Kansas City Public Works crews went from one area to the next fixing potholes.
Every city and agency has a way you can file a claim if your vehicle is damaged from a pothole. To file a claim with MoDOT, for example, you should fill out this form.
In addition to filling out a form or calling a hotline, experts say it is always beneficial to try and take a picture of the pothole and the damage to your vehicle to help prove your case.
If you need to report a pot hole, here is number you should call for your area:
- KDOT KC Metro Office: 785-296-3585
- MODOT Office: 1-888-275-6636
- Grandview: 816-316-4856
- Kansas City, Missouri: 816-513-1313
- Independence: 816-325-7624
- Lee's Summit: 816-969-7754
- Lenexa: 913-477-7880
- Liberty: 816-792-6150
- North Kansas City: 816-274-6004
- Olathe: 913-971-6037
- Overland Park: 913-895-5010
- Raytown: 816-737-6044
- Shawnee: 913-631-2500
