Officials can\u2019t say exactly how many potholes there are out there \u2014 just the number of those that have been reported. But the record rains have left the region\u2019s roads awash in them, and crews are trying to keep up. The rocky conditions of roads has become a hot topic on L.A. social media, as motorists share their stories of direct hits and near misses.<\/p>\n
\u201cLA potholes got me looking like I hit a d\u2014 pedestrian,\u201d one TikTok poster recently wrote over a photo of a sedan with a bent and rimless wheel.<\/p>\n
The situation might end up costing taxpayers as motorists file claims for damages with the city.<\/p>\n
In just the last few weeks since Christmas Eve, crews have repaired more than 3,800 potholes and are working seven days a week to tackle the surge of new complaints, according to the Bureau of Street Services.<\/p>\n
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A car passes a pothole near East Compton Boulevard and Bradfield Avenue in Compton.<\/p>\n
(Carlin Stiehl \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n
But when more potholes open up after a soaking, there\u2019s a painful \u2014 and at times expensive \u2014 learning curve for memorizing all the new locations, Shin said.<\/p>\n
\u201cPotholes are a natural outcome of wear and tear from cars and vehicles driving, as well as water soaking into asphalt, and it takes time for them to form,\u201d the bureau said in a statement. \u201cIncreased potholes are a very common occurrence during wet weather events.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Bureau of Street Services workers repair potholes following recent storms in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
(Genaro Molina \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n
When it rains, moisture seeps into fissures in the road and weakens the asphalt, which can break apart and buckle under the weight of passing cars and trucks.<\/p>\n
Rain that gets through cracks in the pavement softens the soil beneath, causing more deformation under traffic loading and leading to more cracking, according to Jonathan Stewart, professor of civil and environmental engineering at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering. \u201cIt\u2019s a cycle of progressively enhancing degradation,\u201d he wrote in an email.<\/p>\n
People have been complaining about the progressively enhancing degradation in the city for weeks. One pothole on South La Brea Avenue in West Adams reportedly<\/a> damaged 15 vehicles in the half-hour after it formed early this month, prompting police to temporarily shut down a portion of that street until the crater could be coned off. That hole has since been filled.<\/p>\n A pothole can be seen at Scott and Echo Park avenues in Echo Park.<\/p>\n (Allen J. Schaben \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n \u201cHere\u2019s the bill for the front tire and rim that was damaged,\u201d said a man in a video posted to X last month as he held up a receipt for $2,824.31 before panning the camera over a large pothole he said his son had hit 2 1\/2 weeks before.<\/p>\n Generally, more potholes means more financial claims against the city because it is on the hook<\/a> for compensating drivers for damage on its streets if it knew or should have known about the potholes and had sufficient time to fix them.<\/p>\n According to the city attorney\u2019s office, drivers have filed 284 pothole-related vehicle damage claims against the city since the rainy season started Oct. 1.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the city\u2019s total annual costs from Bureau of Street Services-related litigation \u2014 which include payouts and staff time related to claims arising from pothole damage and other issues \u2014 have been rising steadily, from $13.9 million in 2020-21 to $58.4 million in 2024-25, according to the Department of Public Works\u2019 most recent budget request, which attributes the costs to the deteriorated condition of city streets and sidewalks.<\/p>\n It is still too early to tell how this year\u2019s winter will measure up with past ones when it comes to street damage, but the pothole problem is nothing new in Los Angeles, where the streets become a veritable minefield following any stretch of significant storms. And it\u2019s usually followed by political bluster.<\/p>\n A Bureau of Street Services truck pulls up to a section of Figueroa Street that needs repair after the recent storms.<\/p>\n (Genaro Molina \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n In January 2005, at least 1,200 potholes opened up after weeks of record-setting rainfall, according to an L.A. Times report<\/a>. Mayor James Hahn patched one during a news conference he called to draw attention to the city\u2019s response, saying that such fixes were \u201cone of those ways to let people know what government is doing.\u201d His father, former L.A. County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn, famously promised a dollar<\/a> to anyone who could find a pothole in his district.<\/p>\n Another big year for potholes was the exceptionally wet 2023, when L.A. diverted crews<\/a> from other regular duties to focus on fulfilling roughly 19,642 pothole repair requests the city had received over four months. That April, Arnold Schwarzenegger made headlines for taking matters into his own hands and filling what turned out to be a service trench<\/a> for gas line repairs.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1768420754_111_.jpeg\")
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