Pothole Reporting Goes High-Tech

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Potholes are on roads across the area, but they haven't just popped up. They're already there and are getting worse.

However, technology could be the next step in getting them repaired.

Carnegie Mellon researchers said they have created a website that's essentially one-stop shopping for anyone trying to take care of a nasty neighborhood pothole.

Winter's past is leaving its mark all through our area, but the researchers at said they have a high-tech fix to punch out potholes permanently.

"As people click on the red dots, there's evidence there's a public problem, and it's a safety issue," CMU Economics Professor Robert Strauss said.

It's called RODAS, the Road Damage Assessment System. It's a new website that lets people report potholes in their neighborhood.

"All you need is something to take a picture and upload it to the website, and second, you need to be a member of Facebook. That's how you become part of the online community," Strauss said.

You'll see from the map that most reports come from around the CMU campus, but it's useful pretty much anywhere.

"People can point and click at their favorite pothole and start pestering people to fix them," Strauss said.

There are two things you should know before using the website.

Never take the pictures while driving. While the information is going on the Internet, it doesn't necessarily go right to PennDOT's attention or the city. However, the hope is that someone is paying attention.

"If your pothole gets fixed and we turn a red dot into a green dot, then there's the question of whether it stays a green dot or if someone just did an election year patch on it. So, all of this with technology is far more immediate than the ones PennDOT uses on the state roads," Strauss said.

While PennDOT said the best way to get a pothole fixed to call its 1-800-FIX-ROAD hotline, you can check out the RODAS project for yourself by clicking here.

RELATED LINKS

City Crews Begin Patching Potholes
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RODAS Project
Carnegie Mellon University
PennDOT