NJ winter will create more potholes — how to report one, file a claim

About 159,000 potholes have been repaired already in 2022 by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

And those crews only handle state-maintained roads.

The upcoming winter and early spring will bring another round of craters to New Jersey's roads. While repairs occur all year long, the majority of potholes materialize in the spring, following months' worth of freeze-thaw cycles that wreak havoc on the asphalt.

"Due to our four seasons, we see changes in our road conditions constantly, so it's very fluid," Chris Feinthel, director of operations for NJDOT, told New Jersey 101.5.

More than five dozen highway operations teams are sprinkled across the state, responsible for different roadway segments, Feinthel said.

Roadways that get the most traffic also end up with the greatest number of potholes, he said. Roads and corridors in the areas surrounding Newark, Camden and Paterson, for example, see over 100,000 vehicles per day.

According to a state-by-state analysis of online searches by QuoteWizard, New Jersey is seventh-worst when it comes to pothole problems.

How to make a pothole claim in New Jersey

New Jersey gives motorists a chance to make a claim for reimbursement caused by a pothole on a state-maintained road. However, it's the claimant's duty to prove that the state was aware of the pothole and failed to address it.

This is the form that needs to be filled out. Keep in mind, NJDOT does not run the Garden State Parkway, New Jersey Turnpike, or Atlantic City Expressway.

Only the registered owner of the damaged vehicle (not the driver) can complete the form.

Report a pothole in New Jersey

NJDOT has a website for the public to submit complaints about its roads. You can enter an address or location on the interactive map to give officials a better idea of the problem area.

But that form is meant for roads run by the Department.

Feinthel said he typically pushes residents to use the 1-800-POTHOLE route to report an issue. That goes to the Department's central dispatch, which has relationships with county and municipal operations.

"If we get a report of a pothole that's not on one of our roads, we'll still take down all of that information, and we get that in the hands of the right people," Feinthel said.

If the pothole you see is on a county road, use this page to find the best point of contact.

Dino Flammia is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at dino.flammia@townsquaremedia.com

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