Melting Snow Reveals City Streets Littered With Potholes

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Wingohocking Street has become more of an obstacle course than a road, littered with potholes that drivers say keep getting worse.

"I got a flat here," said Carolyn Johnson, "thankfully, my dad is a mechanic so I got it fixed easily."

On state and city streets, melting snow is revealing a maze of potholes.

"It should never have gotten this bad," quipped Stacey Dutton.

Repair crews are patching dozens of potholes a day, like a truck working its way down Lincoln Drive. But more potholes and more damaged cars are showing up everyday.

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"Cars come in with suspension problems and blown wheels," said Tommy Flora, a manager at Evan's Gulf on Spring Garden Street.

Mechanics say the number of cars with pothole damage has tripled in the last week.

"This time of year, the ice melts, and it lifts the asphalt off the road," Flora said, "and potholes are deeper than ever."

And if drivers want to see any payback for the pothole they hit, it all depends on where it happened.

"If you're on a state highway, you're out of luck. Hopefully, you have your own insurance," said Ed Chacker, an attorney with Gay Chacker & Mittin. "If it happened on a city street, you can take a picture, file a report, and the city can pay your claim."

With a few more weeks of winter ahead, potholes are a problem that aren't going anytime soon.

If you need to report a problem to the City of Philadelphia Streets Department, you can dial 311 or visit the city website at potholes.phila.gov.

Reported by Oren Liebermann, CBS 3