Officials said a monthslong spate of heavy rains and a prolonged asphalt shortage in 2006 spurred a sharp increase in potholes over the previous year and forced the city and state to pay out about $172,000 in pothole damage claims to drivers.

Despite the figures, officials said they are making progress in the "war on potholes" with a slew of repaving projects under way and more slated for coming months.

But ask just about any driver about potholes, and you'll likely hear a story about a rocky road in their neighborhood.

"You've got to watch where you're driving," said Robert Smallwood, who blew out a tire on his sedan last week after driving through a 6-inch-deep pothole on Halekauwila Street.

Three months ago, Smallwood blew out a different tire on his vehicle in a pothole on H-1 Freeway. When he damaged his tire last week in Honolulu, Smallwood said he was driving about 15 mph. "There's a lot of potholes around the city," he said.

Bruce Fink said three years of driving over potholes in Makiki left him with a $1,566 repair bill for his 2001 Dodge Caravan.

"This is a vehicle that you would expect would be able to take the damage," said Fink, who lives in an apartment building on Makiki Street. "The whole front end was thrown out of alignment."

The city patched 68,586 potholes in 2006 — up from 46,603 holes patched a year earlier. More than half of last year's potholes were in Honolulu, where crews patched 48,000 road ruts.

In 2004, the first year the city started counting potholes, crews filled 69,264 holes.

The state could not provide numbers on how many potholes it has patched.

Laverne Higa, director and chief engineer for the city Department of Facility Maintenance, blames the increase in potholes on O'ahu last year on rains from January to March, coupled with an asphalt shortage.

"It really exponentially put us back," Higa said. "We're working on catching up."

She also said the department is looking for workers to fill shorthanded pothole crews. Several workers have left in recent years due to retirement, and the city has been unable to fill the vacancies, she said.

But ultimately, said road maintenance division chief Larry Leopardi, pothole patching isn't the answer.

"Potholes are only the symptom of the pavement problem," Leopardi said. "I think the key is more reconstruction. You have to fix the roads."

ADDITIONAL FUNDING

The spike in potholes comes two years after Mayor Mufi Hannemann declared a "war on potholes," which included more funding for pothole crews and repaving projects.

Since then, the city has repaved or pledged to repave several thoroughfares. Contracts for rehabilitating Ala Wai Boulevard, Beretania Street and South Street will go out this year.

The state also is making potholes a priority.

Work to repave Ala Moana from downtown to Ala Moana Center will start this summer, while construction crews will start as early as March on a repaving project on the Kane'ohe side of the Likelike Highway. The Kalihi side is already complete.

There also is repaving or pothole work this year slated for the airport viaduct on H-1 Freeway, and at the Ka Uka interchange.

"We've been doing a lot of repaving in the last three years," said state Transportation Department spokesman Scott Ishikawa.

"If you keep the road in consistently good shape, you won't have a pothole problem," he said, adding that Ala Moana is riddled with potholes because it hasn't been repaved since 1992.

Ala Moana, however, is no exception.

Across the island, residents reported streets and highways riddled with potholes. Bob Vermillion, a tax preparer who works out of his home on Liliha Street, said cars and buses are constantly running over two potholes outside his driveway.

"It just turns into a mud hole when it's raining," Vermillion said. "You hear people hit it every time."

Vermillion said the potholes have been around for at least three years. Every once in a while, a crew comes to patch them. But the ruts always return.

"The street needs to be repaved," Vermillion said.

In Manoa, Chamaigne Ralston is fed up with the big potholes on Lowrey Avenue. "Everybody drives zig-zaggy to avoid the holes," said Ralston, who has a sedan. "I'm just sick and tired about it."

She said a few of the larger potholes on the street have been filled in recent years, but many still remain. The ruts on Lowrey Avenue start at Loomis Street and continue to Kahawai Street.

REINMBURSEMENT CLAIMS

All those potholes on city and state roadways wreak a lot of damage to cars, and many drivers file claims for reimbursement. The state paid out about $108,000 for 225 pothole damage claims last year, after changing its policy to allow drivers to get a claim for an unreported pothole.

In 2005, when drivers could get reimbursed only for potholes previously reported to the state, 96 drivers who claimed pothole damage got $51,000.

In 2004, the state paid out $64,000 in pothole claims.

Meanwhile, the city shelled out about $64,000 to 383 drivers for pothole damage last year — a $13,000 increase in reimbursements from 2005, city figures show.

The average claim also increased in 2006 to about $166. Two years ago, the average claim was $155. In 2004, it was $184.

Fink, of Makiki, filed a claim in June for the $1,566 repair bill to his van. The claim was denied at the end of August. In a letter, the city said Fink was not able to provide specific dates and locations of potholes in which his van sustained damage.

"Most of the damage was caused by the local potholes around our house," Fink said, adding his mechanics told him the damage to his van was likely because of potholes. "I couldn't avoid the potholes."

The potholes also are costly for Dale Evans, president and chief executive officer for Charley's Taxi & Limousine. She said her drivers often miss work because their cars are in the shop. Often, she added, repair work is related to potholes or uneven roads.

"If they have to put it in the shop, they're out of work," Evans said. "In Waikiki, the left lane is full of potholes. On Ala Moana Boulevard, it is terrible by the shopping center."

Reach Mary Vorsino at mvorsino@honoluluadvertiser.com.