Pothole on Markley Snarls Traffic, Damages Vehicles

Traffic on Markley Street came to all but a crawl on Saturday afternoon, as drivers attempted to avoid passing through a large pothole in the northbound lane between Elm Street and Harding Boulevard.

Patch was tipped off to the pothole by Facebook follower Craig Gleason, who informed residents to avoid the area due to the pothole causing heavy traffic and possibly damaging vehicles. Almost immediately, additional reports came in to Patch from other readers stating that their cars had been damaged after they struck the pothole overnight and this morning.

We arrived on the scene around 2 p.m., where we observed a roughly two-foot wide, six-inch-deep pothole that was blocked off by two orange traffic cones at the intersection of Markley Street and Wayne Avenue. The cones were put into place shortly before our arrival, according to a resident.

A man who identified himself as a PennDOT official told Patch that the hole was created due to overnight rain. The man then requested that we not report on the issue, and walked away when questioned about who would be responsible for repairing the damage to the vehicles.

Residents on both Markley Street and Wayne Avenue stated that they saw crews putting in "soft fill" once it started raining on Friday, and they added that they have heard vehicles "bottoming out" since roughly 3 p.m. yesterday.

Readers quickly chimed in on Facebook, after we posted a photo of the pothole:

• Linda Devine-Smithson said: "I just took a detour using Harding Blvd to go around this! HUGE holes in the road and bad traffic. Cars bouncing all over ... not for my vehicle, thank you!"
• Kristine Blatman Metz said: "My sisters car was damaged when the rain first started. She said the hole was filled with water, so she didn't realize the drop and was going about 20 mph over that thing! Terrible!"
• Kerri Jackson said: "That street is an absolute disgrace! Just drove passed def is an accident waiting to happen at that spot cars don't have much room to get passed."
• Nicole Carracappa Varga said: "I went through this at 3:30 yesterday on my way to work and it was already this bad!"

According to PennDOT's website, the work is being performed by a contractor named J.D. Eckman, whose company received the $20.8 million contract for the Markley Street Improvement Plan. Crews were on scene preparing to fill the hole at the time we left, but traffic was still heavily backed up in both directions.

For those drivers whose vehicles were damaged, here's how to fill out a claim, per PennDOT:

If your vehicle or property has been damaged by work being performed by PennDOT, contact your county PennDOT office for a claim form. If the damage occurred in a construction work zone of a private contractor for PennDOT, the Construction Unit in PennDOT's District Office should be contacted. The private contractor's insurance company will be notified of the damage.

The phone number for the Montgomery County office is 610-275-2368, and their mailing address is:

Swede Road and Johnson Highway

P.O. Box 350

Norristown, PA 19404

We will continue to update this story once we receive official comment from PennDOT, as well as verification that the hole has been filled. 

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