Nearly 500 claims remain unresolved against the ACT government for damage to vehicles resulting from unrepaired potholes as a result of wetter-than-average La Nina-driven rain weather events over the past three years.
Rarely does wet weather prove so overwhelming but the crumbled ACT roads have triggered 1164 claims for vehicle repairs since January 2022 - and still the numbers keep climbing.
Since the pothole problems compounded, 670 claims have been "processed" by the government. This compares with just 40 claims paid out in 2021 and 16 in 2020.
"Staffing resources have been doubled to process the backlog of claims," Transport Canberra said in a statement.
"Some cases may take more time than others, as we work to liaise with the claimant to gather the evidence that is required to properly assess the claim."
Jamie Wilson initially feared his claim would be further delayed by coming forward but given he is now $3326 out of pocket from four unresolved claims, figured it was more important that the protracted problems be exposed.
His earliest claim was lodged more than 12 months ago and he has provided exhaustive evidence, including photos, video and receipts for the damage sustained.
Passive-aggressive tactics have also been employed to prevent people from venting their frustration over the delays. Attempts to contact Transport Canberra's claims department to check on progress receives a tersely worded response which says that any repeat emails or attempts to enquire about the progress of his claims would only "delay the process further".
This triggered a predictable public reaction, with a Canberra Potholes Facebook page created.
The average cost per settlement this year by Transport Canberra was noted as $630 - $230 less than last year.
In a statement, Transport Canberra said that the two years of significant rainfall had forced the repair of 12,000 potholes across the ACT during 2022-23. In a "normal" year, around 3000 are patched.
One claimant was advised via email that "due to the high volume of claim submissions than normal, there are some delays with claim assessments" and pleaded for his "patience and understanding".
Photographic and/or video evidence of the incidents is required by the government, and receipts for the replacement tyre, suspension and wheel damages.
The nightmare for ACT road repair crews is that it only takes a few hours - a short shower to fill the hole with water, then a few hours of heavy traffic - to destroy days of asphalt patching. Heavy vehicles, too, are significant accelerators of road damage.
In Mr Wilson's case, a Sulwood Drive crater destroyed two rims on his Falcon and damaged his suspension in a split-second. And he is still waiting on an outcome.
"This is just not good enough; we've been fobbed off for too long," he said.
"Like many people, I've had to pay out thousands of dollars because of this negligence and there's no sign of a resolution of any kind.
"My fear is that, at the end of all this, I'll get a proforma letter denying any responsibility, and I'll be stuck with over $3000 dollars damage caused by ACT roads."
The Australian Road Research Board says that regular road maintenance is the best pothole prevention.
Identifying where issues emerge is hugely helpful and in NSW, a new system is being trialled where forward-facing cameras and "condition monitoring systems" are fixed to buses, and the results analysed. A similar system was proposed for Canberra's garbage trucks several years ago but failed to eventuate.
More than 12 months ago, Transport Minister Chris Steel said that the government was "providing all available resources to locate and repair potholes throughout the road network and we've extended contractor resources and redirected street sweeping crews to assist in repairing road damage".
The ACT government last year announced a significant increase in road maintenance, boosting the budget to $153 million over four years.
The ACT's annual resurfacing program is currently underway with the Tuggeranong Parkway, Gungahlin Drive, Barton Highway, William Hovell Drive and Hindmarsh Drive up first.
