A monster pothole popped up on Highway 20 in Lachine last Friday night, leaving several people stranded on the side of the road with damaged cars.
Motorists began noticing the pothole sometime around 10:30 p.m. Friday on the westbound portion of the highway, in the centre lane, just after the 1st Ave. overpass.
Several cars hit it, and cracked wheel hubs, popped tires, and one person who contacted CJAD 800 via Your Story suggests the impact was so severe that his windshield cracked.
That wasn't the worst of it — Spiros Markessinis told CJAD 800 that despite the damaged cars, help was slow to come.
"I don't believe Transport Quebec didn't block the lane," Markessinis says. "And there were people hitting the pothole. And we're talking about damages, transmission, tires, everything. Cost me $1,000. And nobody wants to take responsibility."
He and several other people each had to pay $200 just to get their cars towed from the highway — and that's not including the damages to their vehicles.
In addition, Markessinis says the SQ wouldn't give them accident reports, and the amount of red tape they have to deal with just to claim damages is daunting.
"Right now, I don't know what I'm going to do," he says. "Go to court, it's out of the question. How else am I going to make a claim?"
A Transport Quebec crew visited the stretch of road in question on Tuesday morning and found no potholes — which may indicate the gash was fixed sometime over the last few days. A spokesperson says anyone wishing to file a claim about a car damaged by poor road conditions can visit the Transport Quebec web site and fill out a form.