RICHMOND, Va. -- A truck driver who hauls thousands of gallons of flammable liquid daily is worried that a road riddled with potholes is a safety hazard, so he reached out to the CBS 6 Problem Solvers for help.
"You can only pray and hope that you can get in and out everyday without something going wrong," said the driver, who spoke with WTVR CBS 6 on the condition of anonymity.
Some of the potholes WTVR CBS 6 crews spotted on Trenton Avenue as you enter from Commerce Road were as big as three feet wide and a foot deep.
The trucker called the potential danger "total gross negligence."
"It's a lot of weight on these trailers and these suspensions are meant to carry weight, but they're not meant to go through rough or abusive use," the driver warned.
A big rig runs over potholes in South Richmond.
Video shows numerous big rigs attempting to maneuver around the broken pavement to get to and from Kinder Morgan to fill up on fuel.
But the whistleblower also worries about the potholes causing a mechanical failure to the truck.
"Being that 95 is only one mile from this facility or this road, it could occur once the driver reaches a highway speed and could become uncontrollable," the trucker warned.
When he got no help from the city, the trucker reached out to the CBS 6 Problem Solvers. And WTVR CBS 6 reporter Sandra Jones reached out to Richmond's Public Works Interim Director Bobby Vincent.
"That's something we're going to take a look at," Vincent said. "So we will assess it. If it is ours, we'll certainly be out there to take care of it."
Later that same day, city crews were out patching some of the potholes. And city officials said they plan to do more work next week.
"Without the Channel 6 Problem Solvers, this wouldn't have been done today. So this is a step in the right direction and I can't thank ya'll enough for it," the driver said.
If you see a pothole on your street or in your neighborhood, call 311 or go to seeclickfix.com and report the information, so city crews can respond.
CBS 6 News is working for you. Click here to email a tip to the CBS 6 Problem Solvers. Be sure to leave us your name, phone number and detailed description of the problem. You can also leave a message by calling 804-254-3672.
