Massive Sinkhole Seems To Grow In Western New York

Disclaimer: the featured image is a stock photo. If you have a photo of the sinkhole described, send an email to kadie@wyrk.com.

A driver in Western New York has sustained serious damage to her vehicle along with a blown tire, and as a result, she is urging other drivers to beware.

Potholes and sinkholes become more apparent after experiencing a duration of bad weather, usually including snow or rain, but there is one thing that separates a pothole from a sinkhole: the depth.

A pothole is a chunk of asphalt that is missing from the roadway, but a sinkhole is where the asphalt is intact but it has sunken down due to the instability of the ground below, according to this government website.  

If you have traveled through Depew/Lancaster area recently, you have likely run into this massive road blemish. 

And I’ll say – it’s pretty scary when you are driving in the dark and have no prior notice that you are approaching a sinkhole. 

Driving down Walden, you will see it (or feel it) in the right hand lane near the bus garage. 

One driver alleged that the sinkhole caused them to swerve into oncoming traffic. 

Over 50 people commented on the original post in the Lancaster/Depew Neighbors Helping Neighbors Facebook group, with many people sharing a similar experience with their car colliding with the sinkhole. 

You can see that original post when you click here. (And if you have a picture of a sinkhole/massive pothole in Western New York, you can email kadie@wyrk.com.)

Yes, authorities in New York State will pay for pothole damage to vehicles but it has to follow these requirements:

• Claim must be filed in 90 days.
• The authorities had to have known of the pothole for at least 15 days.
• The damage had to have taken place during pothole season, which is typically between May 1st to November 15th.

To report a pothole, you can call 1-800- POTHOLE (1-800-768-4653). The phone line is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. To report non-emergency problems about potholes in non-urgent locations, you can call 311.