MEMPHIS, Tenn. — As if the potholes aren’t annoying enough, Memphis drivers are now being forced to dodge man-made holes — some big enough to potentially do serious damage to your car.
“[There’s ] always some sort of hole in the road that you would think, ‘Ok, I guess they’re going to fix this,’ and then they just leave it and move on to a different one,” said Elizabeth Stephans.
One hole on Park Avenue in Orange Mound is a few feet from her front door.
She tells WREG that MLGW crews dug the hole earlier this week after a power outage on her block.
“This is a very busy road,” she said. “There are always cars up and down this road no matter the hour of the day, and so I think because it’s such a busy road, maybe we should be paying more attention to making sure they’re drivable.”
One after another, WREG watched as cars swerved Friday trying to avoid the huge hole which was left partially uncovered.
And it’s just one of many like it across the city that has drivers fed up.
“It’s not safe,” Stephans said. “It’s not safe for the cars, it’s not safe for the drivers because people are swerving without giving a turn signal just to try to avoid it.”
WREG spotted several more holes covered with metal plates in the same area, and crews had to add a second plate to a massive hole on Central Avenue in Midtown after MLGW said rain collapsed the asphalt, leaving much of it exposed.
In the end, Stephans said she just wants to see something done.
“I’d like to see it filled because I think just putting a plate over it doesn’t solve the problem.”
MLGW spokesperson Gale Carson said Friday afternoon that the work on the Central Avenue hole is complete and asphalt will be poured by the end of next week.
As for the hole on Park Avenue, Carson said the City of Memphis Public Works Department has been notified to look into the problem.
