PennDOT begins work to fill potholes on more than 60 Philadelphia-area highways this week
As winter thaws out, one of Philadelphia's peskiest problems is rearing its ugly head once again: potholes. It wasn't hard to find people across the city who have seen their fair share.
"All over the place," Dwayne Johnson from Germantown said.
"You don't have a choice but to be on alert for potholes," Joan Rowell from Mt. Airy said. "They're everywhere."
In 2024, USA Today/BLUEPRINT released a study identifying the worst states and cities for the road menaces. Based on years of Google Trends data, Pennsylvania ranked 11th worst for potholes, and Philadelphia was 15th worst for the nuisance.
The primary pothole driver for our area, according to PennDOT, is our climate.
"It would be better if we were just a cold region or just a warm region," Robyn Briggs, PennDOT's District 6 community relations coordinator, said. "We are what we call a rapid freeze-thaw cycle."
Ending up in a pothole, though, can cost you a lot more than time and your frustration. Just ask Greg Fulton from West Oak Lane, who tells CBS News Philadelphia that hitting a pothole two months ago put his car in the shop.
"It broke my axle. I had to get a new axle. I had to get new struts," said Fulton, who said that in all, the fixes cost him around $2,000.
PennDOT crews are now starting the annual work of fixing potholes across the state highway system. Officials in the department say the public has given them plenty of places to start.
"Since January now, we've had over 2,000 customer concerns, since Jan. 1 of 2025, for potholes," Briggs said.
On Monday, PennDOT launched its first wave of pothole targets, saying it plans to repair more than 60 highways in the Philadelphia five-county area. The targets include major highways like I-95, the Vine Street Expressway, Roosevelt Boulevard and others.
CBS News Philadelphia caught up with a crew working on Route 202 northbound just before the Gulph Road exit.
Workers there said that in just two and a half hours, they had used up an entire trailer of asphalt, and that's something PennDOT leaders say they plan to go through a lot of.
"In 2024, we used over 4,900 tons of material just for potholes," Briggs said.
Pothole repair cost PennDOT around $5 million last year, something Briggs says is pretty ordinary.
City officials did not make anyone from the Streets Department available to speak with CBS News Philadelphia on Monday. A spokesperson did send a statement, saying in part, "The City of Philadelphia has experienced an influx of roadway defects — including potholes — across many neighborhoods due to aging infrastructure. The Department of Streets works together with internal and external agencies to address roadway infrastructure defects."
Philadelphians say encountering one or more of these small craters on their commute is nothing new, and they've long since adapted.
"No, you got to swerve," Josh from Wissahickon said. "You can't just take it. It's not good for the car."
"I'm a swerver. But sometimes I end up in them," Rowell said.
Both PennDOT and the City of Philadelphia say they rely on the public to fix potholes. PennDOT officials say they actively encourage people to contact them when they see one.
"If you don't know what streets it's in between, then maybe a landmark or a building," Briggs said. "We'll figure it out. But it at least gets on our CCC list, the customer care list, for our counties and then it becomes a priority."
You can report potholes to PennDOT or the City of Philadelphia online.
Motorists are advised of travel restrictions and possible slowdowns next week when driving near work crews patching potholes at the following locations:
Bucks County
- U.S. 13, Falls Township
- U.S. 202 and ramps, Buckingham Township and Doylestown Borough
- Route 32 (River Road), Upper Makefield and Lower Makefield townships and Yardley and Morrisville boroughs
- Route 213 (Maple Avenue, Middletown Township
- Route 232 (Windy Bush Road), Upper Makefield Township
- Route 413, Newtown Borough and Buckingham and Wrightstown townships
- Yardley Morrisville Road/Pennsylvania Avenue, Yardley and Morrisville boroughs
- Oxford Valley Road, Bristol and Middletown townships
- Old Bristol Pike/Philadelphia Avenue, Bristol Township
- Winchester Avenue/Langhorne Yardley Road, Middletown Township and Langhorne Borough
- Hood Boulevard/Penn Valley Road, Falls Township
- Butler Avenue Ramps, Doylestown Township
- Elephant Road, Bedminster Township
Chester County
- U.S. 1 (Baltimore Pike), New Garden and Kennett townships
- U.S. 30, Sadsbury, Valley, Caln, East Caln, and West Whiteland townships
- U.S. 202, Tredyffrin, East Whiteland and West Goshen townships
- U.S. 322, West Brandywine and East Brandywine townships
- Route 41 (Gap Newport Pike), London Grove and Londonderry townships
- Route 100, West Whiteland and West Goshen townships
- Route 162 (Embreeville Road), Newlin Township
- Ship Road, Uwchland Township
- Springton Road, Wallace and West Brandywine townships
- Indiantown Road, Wallace township
- Northbrook Road, West Bradford Township
Delaware County
- I-95, Lower Chichester, Upper Chichester, and Tinicum townships and City of Chester
- U.S. 13, City of Chester, Eddystone, Sharon Hill, Glenolden, and Norwood boroughs and Ridley Township
- U.S. 1, Springfield and Upper Darby townships
- U.S. 322 (Conchester Highway) ,Upper Chichester Township
- Route 3 (West Chester Pike), Haverford, Upper Darby, Marple, and Edgmont township
- Route 291, Tinicum and Ridley townships and Eddystone Borough
- Chichester Avenue, Lower Chichester and Upper Chichester townships
- Elwyn Road, Middletown Township
- Chelsea Road, Bethel Township
- Lenni Road, Middletown Township
- Sellars Avenue, Ridley Park Borough
- Turner Road, Nether Providence Township
- Rose Valley Road, Swarthmore and Rose Valley Boroughs and Nether Providence Township
- Marple Road, Upper Providence and Marple townships
- Lawerence Road, Haverford Township
- Baltimore Pike, Media, Clifton Heights, and Lansdowne boroughs, and Springfield Township
- Darby Road, Haverford Township
- Barren Road, Middletown Township
- Manoa Road, Haverford Township
- Bryn Mawr Avenue, Radnor and Newtown townships
Montgomery County
- Route 63 (Sumneytown Pike), Marlborough Township
- Route 152 (Limekiln Pike), Cheltenham Township
- Route 232 (Huntingdon Pike), Abington Township
- Susquehanna Road, Abington and Upper Dublin townships
Philadelphia County
- I-95
- I-676 (Vine Street Expressway)
- U.S. 1 (Roosevelt Boulevard)
- Route 3 (Walnut Street)
- Route 63 (Woodhaven Road)
- Route 291 (Penrose Avenue)
- Market Street
- Castor Avenue
- Aramingo Avenue
- Rhawn Street
- Welsh Avenue
- Spring Garden Street
- Baltimore Avenue
- Oregon Avenue
