Every year, Northeast Ohio communities deal with relentless snowstorms that affect the conditions of the roads.

But this year was worse. 

Chris Arietta, Director of Public Works for the City of Beachwood, explained how the conditions of the road have worsened over the course of five months due to the harsh winter conditions.

“We had a lot of extreme cold temperatures and freeze-thaw cycles that happened quite a bit, [resulting in] more issues with our asphalt roads this year than normal winters,” Arietta said.

In the Cleveland area, we were hit with heavy snowstorms, leading to 22.7-24.3 inches of the overall snowfall and windchills below -25 degrees.

Senior Ambyr Paul points out how potholes have spread throughout many roads. She voices her frustration by explaining how annoying it is to maneuver around them.

“[I’ve seen] so many potholes in my apartment complex, and some on the way to Mayfield, and I hate them,” she said. “I’m scared that I will mess up my tires.” 

As winter weather conditions worsened across the area, the roads became increasingly hazardous. 

Cold temperatures in Beachwood have caused potholes and cracks to form on local streets, as repeated freeze-thaw cycles allow moisture to seep into the pavement and expand. 

Arietta explained that Public Works Crews have worked to fix the damage through repeated crack sealing; while a select few roads have already been treated, there are still a handful of side roads that are scheduled to be resurfaced.

“[This summer, the top priorities are to resurface] North Woodland, Medway Road, East Silsby, East Baintree and East Groveland,” Arietta said. 

Junior Sam Wolf  has seen some road damage, but he feels that it is not a huge issue because people drive on these roads daily.

“It does not affect me because you still drive on the normal road [whether they are destroyed by potholes or not], but [road damage] has [appeared more] on the main roads,” Wolf said.

These roads were among the worst that got the most complaints from residents who have voiced frustration over the road conditions, citing costly vehicle damage and ongoing safety concerns.

Marc Schlessinger, a lifelong resident of Beachwood, has voiced his complaint about the problematic driving conditions that have caused repeated issues with his car.

“The salt eats away at the car; It’s a double-edged sword because you either have clear streets or bad road conditions,” Schlessinger said. “In February, I had to deal with a [costly tire repair] because [my daughter] hit a pothole, and her tire was sliced.”

Over the past several years, Teslas have gained popularity in Beachwood; however, they are also at a higher risk of road-related damage due to their build. 

“They’re low profile, which means they’re low to the ground, and every time I hit a pothole, it just chews a chunk out of the rim [of the car],” Schlesinger said.

Since 2022, Teslas have been built with the ‘self-drive mode setting’ which allows the car to drive itself. However, rough road conditions have proven to be obstacles for Tesla owners like Schlessinger who want to utilize the self-driving option. 

“The full self-driving is great, but it will go right over a pothole,” Schlessinger said. “I [like to] control the car [so] every time I see a pothole, I either go right or left.”

As Beachwood moves into the warmer months, residents can expect to see increased efforts to repair and resurface the damaged side streets.

 While this winter left its mark, residents hope to see an improvement in creating safer roads.