WORCESTER, Mass. - It’s been a bumpy ride for Worcester drivers. 

“They are all over the place,’ driver Samuel Bucciaglia said. “They definitely need to get fixed.”

Roadside technicians are feeling their pain. 

“Pretty sure I did about seven flat tires (Tuesday) night,” Anthony Grandinetti said. 

Grandinetti works for Walter C. Cranston & Sons Inc. and said winter weather is opening up potholes on the roads. He’s been busy taking many calls because of the poor conditions. 

“​The road conditions are never good in Massachusetts in the winter with all the snow and the ice,” Grandinetti said. “We will see anything from flat tires to cars that roll over on the highway.” 

What You Need To Know

  • Potholes in Worcester are creating headaches for drivers and roadside technicians 
  • Anthony Grandinetti repaired several flat tires Tuesday night because of the poor road conditions 
  • Worcester DPW crews are patching up potholes, some as deep as eight inches
  • DPW commissioner Jay Fink asks drivers to take it slow behind the wheel 

City of Worcester Department of Public Works and Parks commissioner Jay Fink said massive potholes are popping up overnight. 

“Anytime you have a defect in the roadway and you get water into it and then it gets to freeze, that does just nothing but explode,” Fink said. 

Crews were out on Wednesday patching up potholes as deep as eight inches and have spent the last few days repairing ones just as big. Fink said pothole season came early this year and recommends drivers take it slow behind the wheel. 

“I know we are all in a hurry and we have to get there,” Fink said. “We do not have the luxury of having all new roadways. We have roads that are aged. When you get into the residential areas we have very old roads that are compromised.”

​Hitting a pothole hard enough can damage your tire, even your rim. 

“It’s not right for the patrons to have to pay for something that should have been paid for with our taxes,” Bucciaglia said. 

Fink said sometimes, the city will pay a claim on pothole damage, but it’s rare. 

“There is some limited liability. Go through your insurance company, see where they will lead you,” Fink said. “If it goes to the city, there is a process.”

There is a pothole reporting tool on the City of Worcester’s website for residents to report potholes on city streets.