GREENSBORO, N.C. — How many times have you been driving down a street and noticed a pothole or dip in the road? Then, the next week you go back down the same street, and the problems are still there.
That’s when you decide to call the city or the state about fixing the issue. A week later, the problem is still there. This is the scenario Cyrus Bowman was dealing with.
“This all started about a year and a half ago,” Bowman explained.
The pavement on Sandy Ridge Road by the railroad tracks was apparently sinking. The asphalt by the railroad tracks was about three to four inches lower than the tracks. The dip forced Bowman and other drivers to slow down or risk damaging their cars.
“It was creating such a real liability for all the traffic that knew about it, but a bigger concern was the traffic that was not aware (of the dip),” Bowman said.
For trucks and big rigs, the dip was not a major concern yet, but for cars, especially cars low to the ground it was a major problem. The other big concern was cars slowing down at the last minute, causing accidents.
“My fear was someone is going to get rear-ended or possibly a terrible accident,” Bowman said.
After reaching out to the state on several occasions, Bowman decided to contact News 2. We reached out to the state and sent pictures and videos to a representative. We were told the asphalt was the responsibility of the railroad to maintain.
Then, we contacted the railroad company and sent the same pictures and video asking for answers. A spokesperson got back to us a few days later and said it would investigate the complaint.
“It was bad. It was bad,” Bowman said.
A few days later, we were informed the road was set to be fixed soon but an official date was not known. The good news for drivers is about three weeks after we reached out to the railroad, the road was patched. The new asphalt put down is now flush with the tracks.
“I’m very pleased with the end result,” Bowman said.
If you happen to notice a pothole or lip on a road when you're out driving don't assume others have already called. Cities, counties, and the state rely on drivers to let them know if repairs are needed.