Cars damaged by potholes, exposed sewer covers during South Loop repaving project

CHICAGO (WLS) -- At least a dozen drivers were forced off the road with flat tires and cracked rims after traveling through a rough stretch of road in Chicago's South Loop.

Drivers want to know why the city didn't block off a section of South Clark Street near West Roosevelt Road Thursday night. The road is being repaved.

One by one, cars were damaged by potholes and exposed sewer covers.

"There's nothing but sewers and potholes and sewers, where they scraped up all the asphalt. Then when you get under the tunnel, under Roosevelt, it's really deep and you can't really see all the sewer heads," said Liz Eley, a Chicago driver. "This is terrible. They could have just blocked the street off and people could have taken upper Roosevelt to get down here."

Rama Atieh, who was driving on Clark near West Polk Street, got a flat Friday morning. She drove around to find a safe place to park, then got out and assessed the damage. She was not happy.

"Very frustrating. I don't know what to do right now. Waiting to see who to call," Atieh said.

The Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation released this statement Friday morning:

"The area has been under construction for infrastructure repairs, with milling for street resurfacing beginning this week. Signage is in the area encouraging residents to drive slowly. City crews will be out inspecting the site this morning."

Unfortunately, that's no help to those that have to drop off their children and maneuver the traffic mess.

"It's definitely a tight intersection and our school is, literally, hidden behind all these alleys. It's definitely an inconvenience to the rest of us. We are always late. Five, ten minutes," said Mahtab Salehi, another Chicago driver.

Drivers can file a claim with the city, it could take months before there's any reimbursement.