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Drivers say section of Appling Road covered in ‘half-patched’ potholes that keep opening back up

Bartlett residents say this has been a constant problem, claiming not enough time is put into repairs along the busy stretch of road.

BARTLETT, Tenn. — People living along the Bartlett/Memphis line said they have to drive across a stretch of road riddled with potholes on a daily basis. 

During ABC24’s Bartlett Let’s Talk townhall in November, a resident brought up concerns over potholes along Appling Road, specifically between Stage Rd. and Bellevue Baptist Church.  

Other people living in the area echoed those concerns, saying that many of these potholes were ones that had been fixed before, only to breakdown again. 

“It gets pretty bumpy and especially with the speeds people maintain around here,” said Taylor Smith, who has to drive down Appling Rd. almost every day to get to work. “No one drives the speed limit, so it just gets even more bumpy when you’re trying to keep up without getting run over.”   

Appling Road runs about 1.8 miles between Stage and Bellevue Baptist. Some of the worst-looking sections of damaged road are outside of the church, where you can find some of the worst-looking potholes. 

Bellevue Baptist is also right next to a busy exit onto and off of Interstate 40. 

Smith, who said she has a background in engineering, gave an educated guess as to why these potholes keep opening back up.  

“[Road crews are] in a hurry, and so they let people drive on [the asphalt] while it’s still warm,” Smith said. “And it squishes out to one side, and you have a hole on one side and a hump on the other.” 

Smith said she’s had to deal with these re-sinking potholes for roughly six months since moving into her neighborhood along Appling Rd. 

Dr. Patterson, a local obstetrics and gynecology specialist, said he has been running his own practice on Appling Road for nearly 12 years, and potholes have been a problem since he opened up shop. 

“Lately, they’ve been worse than they have in the past,” he said.  

Smith said the longer these potholes stay on the road, the more dangerous they become. 

“The deeper they get, the harder you hit them,” she said. “And there’s nowhere to stop to make sure you didn’t pop a tire or ruin your rim.” 

The City of Memphis is responsible for maintaining that stretch of Appling Road. ABC24 has reached out to them for comment, and we are waiting to hear back at this time.

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