Pothole Season 2026: The Good , the Bad and the Ugly.

The Good

Long Island, NY
While municipalities are scrambling to fill potholes with cold patch that crumbles in weeks, Pavemaster does it the right way — with hot mix asphalt, saw-cut edges, and proper compaction that creates a permanent repair, not a temporary plug.

We cut clean borders around the damaged area, remove the failed material, and fill it with hot mix that bonds with the existing pavement and holds up season after season. For certain jobs, we also bring infrared technology to the site, which heats the surrounding asphalt and allows us to create a seamless, flush repair without saw cuts. It’s one more tool in the toolkit — and one most contractors don’t offer.

The difference between what you see in the stories below and what we do comes down to one thing: we fix potholes like they’re on our property.

Fix my pothole
asphalt milling around storm drain, commercial parking lot Long Island

The Bad & Ugly

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February 2026

Potholes are problems that get bigger — PaveMaster

Fire Island Inlet Bridge, Long Island — Feb. 20, 2026

A video went locally viral showing a gaping hole in the Fire Island Inlet Bridge along the Robert Moses Causeway — so large you could see the rushing water of the Great South Bay through the exposed rebar. The footage garnered thousands of shares and reactions on social media, showing a section of missing concrete on the span leading to Robert Moses State Park. Long Island Two state assemblymen immediately demanded NYSDOT fast-track the bridge’s full rehabilitation from the planned 2027 start date to this year. Assemblyman Durso put it bluntly: “You don’t slap patches on a bridge and hope for the best — you fix it the right way.” Greater Long Island The DOT patched the hole with steel plates but isn’t changing the timeline.
Source URL: https://greaterlongisland.com/viral-bridge-hole-video-prompts-push-to-speed-up-robert-moses-repairs/

Selden, Suffolk County — Feb. 13, 2026

Residents, business owners, and elected officials held a public event calling on New York State to fix Middle Country Road (Route 25), which many locals consider the most dangerous road in New York. One Centereach resident described driving on it as “horrific and horrendous” — “pothole after pothole, after pothole, where you don’t even know if you’re going to make it out.” PIX11 A local fire chief said potholes are contributing to rollover accidents, noting one had just happened the day before. State funding for a major resurfacing is apparently in the budget — but the work won’t begin for two more years.
Source URL: https://pix11.com/news/local-news/long-island/horrific-and-horrendous-residents-and-officials-call-for-road-to-be-repaired/

Town of Islip, Suffolk County — Feb. 18, 2026

In just six weeks, Islip DPW crews have filled 12,250 potholes across the town’s 1,300 miles of roadway. Greater Long Island Supervisor Angie Carpenter also reminded residents that town crews can only repair town-maintained roads — county and state roads are someone else’s problem. That distinction matters for commercial property owners too: your parking lot isn’t anyone’s jurisdiction but yours.
Source URL: https://greaterlongisland.com/supervisor-says-islip-workers-have-filled-12250-potholes-so-far-in-2026/

Town of Hempstead, Nassau County — Jan. 12, 2026

With winter in full swing and road conditions deteriorating, the Town of Hempstead rolled out a new “Pothole Patrol” initiative — a dedicated road-repair crew focused on locating and fixing potholes as quickly as possible, prioritizing high-traffic corridors and areas with recurring damage. 5 Towns Central The town also launched a streamlined online reporting portal for residents. Officials are framing it as both a safety measure and a cost-saving effort, arguing that quick repairs prevent more expensive reconstruction later — which is exactly the case for commercial properties too.
Source URL: https://5townscentral.com/2026/01/12/hempstead-launches-pothole-patrol-to-tackle-winter-road-damage/

Richmond, Virginia — Feb. 24, 2026
On February 24th, Virginia State Police confirmed that a single pothole on Interstate 95 North caused flat tires on 12 vehicles in one morning. Twelve cars. One hole. If that doesn’t illustrate what deferred maintenance looks like in action, nothing does.
Read the full story → CBS 6 Richmond

Grand Rapids, Michigan — Feb. 26, 2026

New research from TRIP, a national transportation nonprofit, found that Grand Rapids drivers spend an average of $898 per year on road-damage-related vehicle costs. Detroit drivers top $1,100 annually. And here’s the kicker — damage claims filed against county and state agencies rarely result in payment. The burden almost always falls back on the driver.
If individual commuters are paying $900/year, imagine what it costs delivery trucks, vendor vehicles, and employee cars hitting the same neglected parking lot potholes day after day.
Read the full story → WGRD Grand Rapids

Nationwide — Feb. 26, 2026
AAA Mid-Atlantic warned that pothole season has arrived earlier than expected following a harsh winter. In Virginia alone, AAA responded to over 80,000 roadside assistance calls last winter, with roughly 15% related to tire issues. The average pothole repair runs about $600, and AAA’s data shows damage cost U.S. drivers $26.5 billion in a single year.
Here’s the part that matters for Long Island: pothole damage is 60% more common in the Northeast than in the South and West. Your commercial property is in the crosshairs.
Read the full story → WRIC ABC 8News

Toledo, Ohio — Feb. 26, 2026
The City of Toledo launched a five-day “pothole blitz” and filled 6,560 potholes. Impressive hustle — but context matters: the city filled over 96,000 potholes last year alone. That’s not a repair strategy. That’s a treadmill.
Municipal crews fill holes with cold patch material that shrinks and fails within weeks. By the time they circle back, the same holes — plus new ones — are waiting. Hotbox infrared technology bonds permanently with existing asphalt, breaking the cycle.
Read the full story → Spectrum News 1 Toledo

New Orleans, Louisiana — 2025
New Orleans’ road problems are so legendary they’ve become cultural events. In 2025, a couple got married inside a massive sinkhole at the corner of Felicity and Chestnut streets — the grand finale of a contest run by the wildly popular “Look At This F___in Street” Instagram account. The account documents the city’s worst road conditions, and never runs out of content.
Read the full story → NOLA.com / Times-Picayune

Cambridgeshire, England
James Coxall, a 41-year-old carpenter, was so tired of a pothole that he built fake legs, stuffed them into boots, and planted them upside-down in the hole so it looked like someone had dived in headfirst. The stunt went viral, the county council fixed the pothole within days, and his wife collected the legs during the repair. Sometimes creativity gets results faster than a service ticket.
Read the full story → Bored Panda




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    Expert pothole repairs covering all of Long Island and Metro NYC

    Long Island, NY
    While municipalities are scrambling to fill potholes with cold patch that crumbles in weeks, Pavemaster does it the right way — with hot mix asphalt, saw-cut edges, and proper compaction that creates a permanent repair, not a temporary plug.

    Suffolk Pothole Repair

    Amityville
    Asharoken
    Babylon
    Belle Terre
    Bellport
    Brightwaters
    Brookhaven
    Copaige
    Dering Harbor
    East Hampton
    Greenport
    Head of the Harbor
    Huntington
    Huntington Bay
    Islandia
    Islip
    Lake Grove
    Lindenhurst
    Lloyd Harbor
    Nissequogue
    North Haven
    Northport
    Ocean Beach
    Old Field
    Patchogue
    Poquott
    Port Jefferson
    Quogue
    Riverhead
    Sag Harbor
    Sagaponack
    Saltaire
    Shelter Island
    Shoreham
    Smithtown
    Southampton
Southold
    Village of the Branch
    Westhampton Beach
    West Hampton Dunes
    Westhampton

    Nassau Pothole Repair

    Atlantic Beach
    Baxter Estates
    Bayville
    Bellerose
    Bellmore
    Brookville
    Cedarhurst
    Centre Island
    Cove Neck
    East Hills
    East Meadow
    East Rockaway
    East Williston
    Farmingdale
    Floral Park
    Flower Hill
    Franklin Square
    Freeport
    Garden City
    Garden City Park
    Glen Cove
    Glen Head
    Great Neck
    Great Neck Estates
    Great Neck Plaza
    Hempstead
    Hewlett
    Hewlett Bay
    Hewlett Bay Park
    Hewlett Harbor
    Hewlett Neck
    Island Park
    Jericho
    Kensington
    Kings Point
    Lake Success
    Lattingtown
    Laurel Hollow
    Lawrence
    Levittown
    Long Beach
    Lynbrook
    Malverne
    Manorhaven
    Massapequa
    Massapequa Park
    Matinecock
    Merrick
    Mill Neck
    Mineola
    Munsey Park
    Muttontown
    New Hyde Park
    North Hempstead
    North Hills
    Old Brookville
    Old Westbury
    Oyster Bay
    Oyster Bay Cove
    Plandome
    Plandome Heights
    Plandome Manor
    Plainview
    Port Washington North
    Rockville Centre
    Roosevelt
    Roslyn
    Roslyn Estates
    Roslyn Harbor
    Russell Gardens
    Saddle Rock
    Sands Point
    Sea Cliff
    Seaford
    South Floral Park
    Stewart Manor
    Syosset
    Thomaston
    Uniondale
    Upper Brookville
    Valley Stream
    Wantagh
    West Hempstead
    Westbury
    Williston Park
    Woodbury
    Woodsburgh

    Queens Pothole Repair

    Arverne
    Astoria
    Auburndale
    Bayswater
    Bay Terrace
    Bayside
    Beechhurst
    Belle Harbor
    Bellerose
    Breezy Point
    Briarwood
    Broad Channel
    Cambria Heights
    College Point
    Corona
    Douglaston
    East Elmhurst
    Edgemere
    Elmhurst
    Far Rockaway
    Floral Park
    Flushing
    Forest Hills
    Fresh Meadows
    Glen Oaks
    Glendale
    Hammels
    Hillcrest
    Hollis
    Hollis Hills
    Holliswood
    Howard Beach
    Hunters Point
    Jackson Heights
    Jamaica
    Jamaica Estates
    Jamaica Hills
    Kew Gardens
    Kew Gardens Hills
    Laurelton
    LeFrak City
    Lindenwood
    Little Neck
    Long Island City
    Malba
    Maspeth
    Middle Village
    Neponsit
    North Shore Towers
    Oakland Gardens
    Ozone Park
    Queens Village
    Queensbridge
    Ravenswood
    Rego Park
    Richmond Hill
    Ridgewood
    Rochdale Village
    Rockaway Beach
    Rockaway Park
    Rockwood Park
    Roosevelt Island
    Rosedale
    Roxbury
    Saint Albans
    Seaside
    South Jamaica
    South Ozone Park
    Springfield Gardens
    Sunnyside
    Sunnyside Gardens
    Utopia
    Whitestone
    Willets Point
    Woodhaven
    Woodside

    Brooklyn Pothole Repair

    Bath Beach
    Bay Ridge
    Bedford-Stuyvesant (Bed-Stuy)
    Bensonhurst
    Bergen Beach
    Boerum Hill
    Borough Park
    Brownsville
    Bushwick
    Canarsie
    Carroll Gardens
    Clinton Hill
    Cobble Hill
    Crown Heights
    Cypress Hills
    Ditmas Park
    Downtown Brooklyn
    DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass)
    Dyker Heights
    East Flatbush
    East New York
    Flatbush
    Flatlands
    Fort Greene
    Georgetown
    Gerritsen Beach
    Gowanus
    Gravesend
    Greenpoint
    Highland Park
    Homecrest
    Kensington
    Madison
    Manhattan Beach
    Marine Park
    Midwood
    Mill Basin
    Navy Yard
    New Lots
    Ocean Hill
    Ocean Parkway
    Paerdegat Basin
    Park Slope
    Prospect Heights
    Prospect Lefferts Gardens
    Prospect Park
    Prospect Park South
    Red Hook
    Rugby
    Sea Gate
    Sheepshead Bay
    South Brooklyn
    Starrett City
    Stuyvesant Heights
    Sunset Park
    Vinegar Hill
    Weeksville
    Williamsburg
    Windsor Terrace
    Wingate
    Wyckoff Heights