TULSA, Okla. — Several drivers have to replace their tires after getting a flat from a pothole on the Broken Arrow Expressway.
It’s located near the Utica exit headed eastbound. 2 News Oklahoma drove the highway and found the pothole. It is located in a construction zone area and it is a deep one but it's hard to notice as it’s mixed in with other road blemishes.
One of the worst parts about it is that after hitting the pothole, the next exit to get off the highway is 15th street which is about a mile further.
On Wednesday alone, at least five drivers fell victim to this pothole leaving them to be towed away. Nicole Klopp was one of those drivers. She was headed to work when it happened.
“Nobody was ahead of me, so I didn’t see anybody else hit the pothole. I had no idea it was there," Klopp said. "It was sunset so there were shadows on the road. I hit the pothole and immediately I hear noises and my tire pressure drops to zero, so I have to go half a mile before I could exit the highway.”
She says after pulling off to a safe place, she saw her tire had a big tear in it, and there was no spare in her trunk. She is frustrated and this made her be late for work, tows were up to a 2-hour wait, and now she has to pay for a new tire.
“Obviously our roads need some major work. I mean four flat tires in the span of half an hour is not drivers' fault. It's obviously a road hazard and it's not okay,” Klopp said.
On Thursday, our team saw several more drivers affected. For some it was a scary experience.
“I actually hit it and my car tried to go into the barrier and I had to fight it to get off the exit but there wasn’t another exit for like a half a mile so I was just dragging my car off the highway,” Maddy January said.
The price tag for these repairs isn’t cheap.
“For this car since I’ve had one before it's close to $900," Meagan Cobb said. "Because not only do you have to fix the tire you have to fix the wheel too. They are special-made and so it's a whole process. I can’t just buy a tire I have to buy a wheel and a tire.”
Cobb even tried to avoid it.
“I tried to swerve and didn’t get my front one but it hit my back one," she said. “It was huge. I was shocked because I didn’t expect such a big one on the highway.”
The spot this pothole is in is a work area as the Oklahoma Department of Transportation is doing a pavement rehabilitation project. 2 News Oklahoma reached out to ODOT, and officials tell us the contractor, Sherwood Construction, is responsible for surface repairs since it's their work zone.
Crews patched the area by 5 p.m. on Thursday.
2 News contacted Sherwood. They haven’t commented on the situation but tell us anyone affected can call their office to submit a claim by calling (918) 266-6861. When calling you will need to provide the company with the date and time you hit the pothole, the construction zone you hit it in, a list of damages, pictures and estimates for the repairs.
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