Potholes are never a good thing — especially to those who have to commute through them on a daily basis.
With the changing of the seasons, more spring up across Gallatin County.
One pothole in Bozeman, in particular, is generating a series of complaints and could be causing a bigger safety issue.
If you’ve driven into town along Durston near Gooch Hill Road, you’ve seen or felt this pothole, which, upon measuring it, it is about five feet across.
And those living nearby say it has only grown.
With semi trailers and cars speeding through here daily, one man who lives right next to the hole says as it grows, so does his concern.
“It’s always amazing to sit and watch,” says Kent Simonson, who lives just a few meters away from the hole. “It’s more fun than watching TV sometimes to see people go through that, how they navigate it.”
When it comes to potholes, the Durston pothole is a whopper.
“I’ve kind of monitored it over the past month or so and it just continues to grow in size,” Simonson says.
Simonson lives at the mouth of the curve where the pothole sits, causing drivers to either drive through it or swerve around it — both options that make him nervous.
“Due to the location right at the curve and people swerving into the other lane, there is some serious concern that I have of somebody careening off of the road and hitting my building,” Simonson says.
Others cars slow down and try to drive through it which, on occasion, has its own consequences.
“Depending on oncoming traffic, I’ll usually navigate around it,” Simonson says. “Otherwise, I just slow down enough to go through it.”
The warning signs nearby are a relieving sight to others, showing that maintenance should be happening soon.
Simonson says the sooner, the better.
“I’d like to see it fixed. I’d like to see it fixed soon,” he says. “I think it is a safety hazard to drivers in the area, especially considering that the road doesn’t have anywhere to go off to the sides.”
MTN News also spoke to the county road department. They say that this road is one of many across the entire area that is scheduled to get some help.
The department adds that while this one has caused some complaints to be called in, road repairs are not prioritized and crews have to go road by road, area by area where it makes sense to use resources.
