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Potholes Swallowing Tires Along I-35W in Fort Worth

Dozens of drivers were dealt a bad blow Thursday in Fort Worth as flat or otherwise damaged tires turned up along Interstate 35W.

"They need to do something. I mean that's dangerous," said Diana Roth, of Fort Worth, about the sizable pothole that was the cause of her concern and the bent rim on her front, driver's side tire.

The particular pothole was situated in the center lane of the northbound side of I-35W, approaching the Northside Drive/Yucca Avenue Exit, until it was patched around sunset Thursday.

The North Tarrant Express Project oversees the ongoing road construction through that corridor โ€“ rated as the most congested stretch of highway in all of Texas.

"Our first priority is safety on our roadway," said Tommy Williamson, a spokesman for North Tarrant Express. "We have gone to great lengths to keep aging infrastructure drivable as we rebuild the new roadway. Unfortunately with all of the rain it has made our re-repairs very difficult."

Alex Duncan, of Denton County, was along the side of the interstate Thursday afternoon changing his right front tire after the pothole popped it.

"[You] can't even pull over. There's no shoulder here or anything," Duncan said about his effort to quickly get back onto the highway.

A Shell gas station was busy all afternoon Thursday, with more than 20 drivers dealing with different levels of damage to their tires.

Nikita Carter, of Fort Worth, blew out the front, right tire of her boyfriend's Chevrolet.

"It catches you off guard. You don't see it until it gets there," Carter said of her inability to avoid the pothole. "Someone could have been hurt. Someone can still get hurt because it's still out there."

The fact that the pothole was repaired late Thursday is only a temporary solution, according to Williamson.

"The process for temporarily repairing potholes during construction is called a 'cold-patch,'" Williamson said. "However, continuous traffic and severe weather can sometimes weaken the patch."

There is no known number for how many people have sustained damage to their vehicles due to potholes along the I-35W within the area the North Tarrant Express Project is focusing its construction on. And the agency will not release either the number of people who have filed claims to be reimbursed for their damage, or how many people have actually had their claims approved by the agency.

To file a claim, you can contact North Tarrant Express through its website, according to Williamson.

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