This street has the worst potholes in Cleveland

You are certain to see potholes while driving through Cleveland, but some areas seem worse than others.

News 5 obtained a list of the most complained about roads for potholes in Cleveland over the last five years. Out of the 1,800 roads with at least two complaints on that list, the intersection of West 117th Street and Lorain Avenue is number one.

Since 2017, the street has a record of 37 repair requests to the intersection. Watch with sound on.

Potholes in Cleveland

Notably, intersections on West 117th Street appeared four times in the top 20.

John Pappas works in the area and says taking the street as part of his commute has been frustrating.

His 1977 LTD has had its shocks replaced twice since he started his job in the area.

"I drive all over Cleveland, and I’ve noticed this is probably about the worst," Pappas said.

His workplace is near four areas with the highest number of pothole complaints:

• West 117th Street and Lorain Avenue
• West 117th Street and Madison Avenue
• West 117th Street and Carbon Road
• West 117th Street and Berea Road.

These are all within a two-mile stretch.
“There’s a lot of potholes, cracks, crevasses, and all sorts of little dips and dives,” Pappas said.

Stephen Scowary from TireChoice, located on West 117th Street near the I-90 bridge, said the road keeps his shop busy.

"Every day, we get at least three to 10 customers needing tire repairs. Sometimes it’s a rim, not just a tire."

The area not only has potholes but active construction going on. We reached out to the city of Cleveland to see if anything was being done currently to fix the problems or in the near future.

Initially, the city referred us to the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT), which confirmed they were working on the I-90 bridge, but none of the work they were doing was part of efforts to fix the potholes down West 117th Street.

News 5 also checked in with Lakewood to see if there was any work. West 117th Street does split Lakewood and Cleveland towards Berea.

Public Works Director Chris Gordon responded:

When it comes to West 117th Street within the boundaries of Lakewood this road is split between the City of Lakewood and the City of Cleveland. So, regarding your list the only intersections within the City of Lakewood boundaries on 117th Street would be west side of the intersection of Madison/West 117th and Berea/West 117th. The City of Lakewood streets department crews have addressed potholes on the Lakewood side of those intersections on numerous occasions. Also, in 2023 the City of Lakewood rehabilitated our side of the intersection of West 117th/Clifton. Side note to my knowledge the other intersections you have listed are in Cleveland.

Chris Gordon, Lakewood Public Works Director

In a statement to News 5, A City of Cleveland spokesperson said:

There were 84 requests for servicing potholes in those specific areas during that time frame – ALL of which were completed and closed . Thus, it is clear that the work always gets completed ; however, sometimes when the assigned worker completes the actual job itself they do not click a button in our computer system to close out the request in a timely fashion. Those outliers aside, the majority of pothole repairs are completed within less than 2 weeks – many of which are completed in less than a week .

It’s also important to note that our ability to service potholes and road repairs depends on the time of year, as asphalt plants are closed during the winter so we must use recycled material during those months. By April of this year, our Division of Streets recycled over 600 tons (i.e. > 1.2 million pounds) of material – equivalent to more than 100 African elephants, 50 school buses, or 13 passenger jet planes.

Tyler Sinclair, City of Cleveland

Those we spoke to said they were hoping for a more permanent fix. One, they are willing to deal with some short-term detours to get fixed.

News 5 will continue to follow through with the City of Cleveland on ongoing and future repairs. If you have a road or traffic concern, contact Elizabeth VanMetre at elizabeth.vanmetre@wews.com.

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