'Massive pothole' takes out tires on Pitts Memorial, says couple

Driving home from dinner with friends around 9:30Friday night, Jordan Lee says he and his girlfriend Rebecca Lawlor hit an unexpected pothole on PittsMemorial Drive near Goulds that nearly sent their vehicle off the road.

"Just on the bridge ofCommonwealth Avenue and the Goulds Bypass interchange we hit a massive pothole, on the curb lane. And after we hit it, we almost lost control of the vehicle, started to swerve," he said Sunday.

• CBC crew hits pothole, gets flat tire while gathering video of pothole problem in N.L.

Lee said Lawlor managed to pull the car over so they could assess the situation.

"The damage was just incredible," he said.

"The passenger side front and rear tires were completely destroyed, and I mean the rim was very, very badly damaged."

Lee said they waited about 45 minutes for a tow truck to come, and several other vehicles pulled over with similar damage.

They tried to call the Department of Transportation and Works, but were unsuccessful at first. So they called the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary to complain about the unmarked safety hazard.

'Safety issue'

When an officer arrived, Lee said he activated his lights and stayed at the scene to warn other drivers about the impending pothole.

"The RNC have better things to do than be a pylon on the highway," he said.

The RNC have better things to do than be a pylon on the highway.- Jordan Lee

Lee said they then managed to reach someone with the departmentwho told them the pothole had been flagged, but there was no signage to warn drivers about it and no repair work.

"When the department knows about a situation, especially on a highway where the speed limit is 100, it is a safety issue. There's no way to dodge it safely, you can't reduce speeds so low that you could cause an accident, people trying to pass as well," said Lee.

$460 repair bill

Given the number of other times a similar thing has happened to drivers this year and his own experience driving to and from work over the Outer Ring Road and parts of PittsMemorial every day, Lee said it's not good enough.

"I've noticed this year is probably one of the worst in many years for the road conditions."

By Sunday evening, Lee had revisited the site and noticed that there was a sign up and the pothole was partially filled.

But he said that doesn't help the $460 bill for new wheels and tires on his girlfriend's car.

Lawlor is a full-time university student and works as well"to pay for the taxes on books and all the other increases," Lee said.

"Right now we had to pay for it on credit card but eventually, that has to be paid off, and right now we don't have that kind of disposable income to start paying for these kind of damages."

The Department of Transportation and Works did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday.