Road disrepair? Drivers pop tires in construction zone on Highway 50 in West Sacramento
SACRAMENTO -- Highway 50 road disrepair is causing headaches for some drivers who question whether ongoing construction projects are to blame for damage to their cars.
"This was like 150 bucks each," said Nhat Tran, showing CBS13 his two brand-new passenger-side tires.
Tran was out hundreds of dollars on Monday. Just a week ago, he got four brand-new tires put on his vehicle.
Sunday night around 7 p.m., a stroke of bad luck started with the sound of a loud pop, and then another.
"Two of them blew up," Tran said of his brand-new tires.
It happened on Highway 50 in West Sacramento at the Downtown Sacramento and Jefferson Blvd exit.
Tran sent CBS13 dashcam video capturing it all. In the video, you hear one loud pop as Tran can be seen driving over a long rut in the road that is within the clearly marked driving lane. Just four seconds later, the second tire pops.
"It's what felt like a gap or a crack in the road," said Tran.
He says he was going the speed limit. It is clear in his dashcam video he was going at or below the speed of surrounding traffic before his first tire popped.
Caltrans told CBS13 Monday the rut could be from remnants of construction work.
In the stretch of roadway stretch, it is clear the lanes had to be shifted over to accommodate for median work. Caltrans announced work to expand and rehabilitate this stretch of highway in late August.
"I have popped a couple of tires as a matter of fact," said Samuel Bellow, another Sacramento driver.
Bellow told CBS13 that the same thing happened to him a few months back, also at the Jefferson Blvd exit. The incidents happened within one week of the other.
"The roads are so bad and potholes and you can't avoid them," said Bellow.
Caltrans has major construction projects ongoing on both Highway 50 and Interstate 80. The agency even announced last week that the massive Fix 50 project is nearly 75% complete.
"We pay taxes. We spend a lot of money on infrastructure. We are supposed to have good roads," said Bellow.
Drivers worry that what is left behind can become dangerous and question what is being done.
"I'm scared to be in that lane again so next time I'm going to be in another lane," said Tran.
Tran and Bellow, tired of dodging disrepair, say they hope the smaller roadway fixes are not forgotten.
Caltrans told CBS13 that its public information team was not available for an interview for this story on Monday. The agency did not respond by deadline to questions CBS13 sent including what could have caused the damage and if Caltrans has any plans to repair the rut.
If a driver believes Caltrans is at fault for damage to their vehicle, a report can be filed online.