If you want to play a real-life video game, drive around parts of McKean County.
You’ll be dodging potholes checkered along several roads in Bradford to Kane to Duke Center, all holding out hope that your vehicle will survive unscatched.
And local residents are saying the problem is getting worse.
“My worst pothole story is when I get in my car every day. Just knowing I have to drive across town and dodge every single one,” said Zach Ruth, responding to a set of questions that appeared on The Era’s Facebook page this week. “This is one of the worst years I remember. Intersections and long stretches are tore up, some (people) have no way of really getting around them without going into the other lane.”
In the City of Bradford, officials say the majority of the complaints regarding potholes revolve around state roads, not ones owned by the municipality. And an official with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation says that some of the roads –– including West Washington Street –– are on the list of roads to be repaired.
“The intersection of West Washington and North Center Street is bad,” Brianna Huff said via The Era’s Facebook page. “It’s been there for months and they keep patching it. But every time it rains or snows a lot it gets even bigger! I’ve been avoiding turning there and going down to Pearl Street to get to work. Or cut through Family Video!”
Dana Kline said all of West Washington Street is in bad shape.
“On my way to class about three weeks ago, I popped my front right tire,” she said. “The day later on a different hole on West Washington I popped the front left. The holes are only getting worse, too. I’ve tried calling the city and it’s busy every time.”
As of Wednesday, Bradford City Councilman Brad Mangel said that some patching had been done to West Washington Street, and some work was also done to Center Street.
“It’s my understanding that the city has been filling potholes at locations where side streets (city streets) intersect with West Washington,” Pennsylvania Department of Transportation spokeswoman Marla Fannin said.
And there’s only a temporary solution to fixing potholes until the weather shifts — cold patch, city officials said.
“Be a conscientious driver. We are filling the potholes pretty much after every snowstorm,” Bradford City Department of Public Works Director Chip Comilla said.
But then the hole is back, he said. City workers return to refill the hole –– and the cycle continues, he added.
“Although it’s generally been a mild winter so far, when temperatures fluctuate from freezing/below freezing to 40 and 50 degrees, the freeze thaw cycle can have significant impacts on roadways — including the formation of potholes,” Fannin said. “PennDOT repairs potholes with temporary patches over the winter and will then make more permanent repairs during warmer weather.”
But there is some good news for those who travel along West Washington Street, she said. That road is tentatively scheduled for resurfacing this summer, from the Bradford line to the intersection with Mechanic Street.
“Those plans are tentative and are subject to change dependent on available monies,” Fannin said.
Other areas throughout the county are in rough shape, too. Claudia Chapman Stein called the Minard Run-Route 770 split in Aiken down to the Pennhills Club “ridiculous.”
“You can avoid some of them in daylight, but not after dark and has been this way since the start of winter,” she said.
Kelli Lunn Swanson said she only cruises down Minard Run Road at 35 mph, since her tires are swallowed up by the potholes.
“If I go any faster, I can’t hold on to my car very well, and I have a fantastic car … Ford Escape,” she said. “Thank goodness my tires are good. It’s no wonder that car maintenance in McKean County is astronomical. Then, you’ve got to keep up keeping your car clean. Impossible.”
Katie Fitzsimmons said the road from Cyclone to Ormsby is also in rough shape and has been for a long time.
But those sections of McKean County aren’t being ignored, either, Fannin said.
“Conditions on SR 770 (Minard Run Road) and SR 646 — not SR 59 (Cyclone to Ormsby) will be addressed by general maintenance crews,” she said. “This could include pothole patching, base repairs, edge repairs, and seal coat (tar and chip). Resurfacing on those routes is not planned in 2017 but will be addressed in the future as funding is available.”
Back in the Bradford area, on High Street near Bradford Forest Products, Julie Ann McGuire said her husband ruined two tires because of a pothole and her son’s vehicle also lost two tires in potholes near Hamlin Bank on East Main Street.
She said her family has spent $400 from damage caused by the potholes.
U.S. Route 219 –– going north and south –– is also the scene of potholes, individuals say via The Era’s Facebook page.
William Roggenbaum said his vehicle hit a pothole while he was traveling southbound between Owens Way and the Elm Street exit.
“I was doing 55-60 mph and my whole tire went in the hole and I just about lost control of my car. If a car would have been beside me at the time it wouldn’t have a very good day for me,” he said.
The intersection of Fraley and Greeves streets in Kane is also pockmarked.
“Right after I hit it my front end of my car shook,” Jennifer Dilley said. “It had broken the belts on my tire. Five days later my tire blew.”
Other problem roads across the county include Big Shanty Road near Lewis Run, South Kendall Avenue near Bradford, Main Street in Duke Center and Lower Portage Road near Port Allegany.
All things considered, Mangel offered some suggestions for drivers: Take a different route if possible and to slow down when driving.
