NY Is Finally Tackling Potholes: Here’s What It Means for Central New York

If you’ve driven anywhere around Central New York lately, you already know. Pothole season hit hard this year.

From dodging craters on your morning commute to wondering if your tire is going to survive I-81, it’s been… a season.

Now, New York says help is officially on the way.

A Massive Statewide Push to Fix Potholes

Governor Kathy Hochul announced what’s being called an unprecedented effort to fix roads across New York after one of the harshest winters in recent memory.

New York will deploy 215 DOT crews to fill 175,000 potholes this month. The state says hundreds of thousands more potholes will be filled as the weather improves.

Why Central New York Roads Took Such a Hit

If it feels worse than usual, you’re not imagining it. This winter brought extreme cold with heaving snow and constant freeze-thaw cycles. That combination is basically a recipe for destroying roads.

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Water seeps into cracks, freezes, expands, and then melts... over and over again... until the pavement gives out. Add traffic on top of that, and suddenly you’ve got potholes everywhere.

Where You’ll See Repairs Around Central New York

The state has already identified key areas in Central New York for pothole repairs and paving work, including:

• Route 298 in Lyncourt and Salina
• US-11 in Cicero and North Syracuse

And that’s just potholes.

Major paving projects are also underway or starting soon across the region:

• Route 5 bypass in Camillus
• I-81 from Syracuse to Mattydale
• I-81 and I-481 in Onondaga County
• Multiple routes through Ithaca (Routes 13, 34, 96, 79, and 89)

Other major paving projects starting in the next few weeks include:

Central New York:

• 28 lane miles on the Route 5 bypass from Old Route 5 to Route 695 in the Town of Camillus, Onondaga County.
• 5.9 lane miles on I-81 from the Syracuse City Line to Mattydale.
• 12.6 miles in the City of Ithaca on portions of Routes 13, 34, 96, 79 and 89.
• 2.5 lane miles on State Route 370 in Onondaga County.
• 20 lane miles on portions of I-81 and I-481 in Onondaga County.

Mohawk Valley:

• 28 lane miles on I-88 from the Otsego County line to just east of Exit 20 in the town and village of Richmondville, Schoharie County.
• 23 lane miles on State Route 365 in Oneida County.
• 11.9 lane miles on State Route 167 from Route 5 to the Dolgeville Village Line.
• 3 lane miles on State Route 5 in Palatine Bridge.

Capital Region: 

• 113 lane miles from Western Avenue to Exit 11 on the Adirondack Northway in Albany and Saratoga Counties.
• 23 lane miles on I-90 from Exit 1 (87 Split) to Exit 5A (Corp Woods Blvd)
• 2.4 lane miles on Route 385 in Athens

What You Can Do If You Spot a Pothole

Still seeing one that hasn’t been fixed yet? You can actually report it! Call 1-800-POTHOLE for state roads. Just keep in mind that the state handles highways but local roads go through your town or city.

Drivers Rejoice: NY Launches Major Road Repairs

If your car has been personally victimized by Central New York potholes this year… relief is coming.

Between the massive pothole push and full-scale paving projects, the state is finally going all-in on fixing the damage from this brutal winter.

Now we just have to survive the construction season!