CLEVELAND — Last week, we asked our viewers to send us the locations of the most impressive potholes in Cleveland, and we made it very clear we were only looking for the big boys.
The most hellacious hollows and calamitous chasms; no dinky dugouts or simple dimples. We wanted to know where to find the randiest of ruts, the most depressing depressions, those catastrophic cavities where you REALLY feel the gravity!
And because you're the best viewers in the Greater Cleveland area, you did provide, for if you've attempted to drink a hot beverage in your car over the last few weeks, then you are well aware that it is pothole season in Cleveland, and boy do we have some beauties on display this year.
When we asked our viewers for tips on where to find the best of the best, the response was both extensive and animated. Though we can't show the majority of those posts because they were riddled with justifiable profanity, it was incredibly helpful, and the game was afoot.
We followed your leads and set out to find the best of the best, meticulously measuring and documenting each candidate to assess depth, width, and overall danger level. Bridget Ginley insisted we check out an impressive specimen on Route 237 near Kamm's Corners, and understandably so. It's a top tier tire biter.
From there we moved south to the merciless minefield that is the Parma area. We received more than one nomination for a gaping gulch near State and Bidulph, and it did not disappoint.
We were then east side-bound, where we were tipped off to a perilous pit located on Superior and Euclid.
From there, we meandered downtown and into the Flats, where we were told to check out the mess that is Train Avenue. In addition to looking like every crime scene location from CSI, it also has some truly horrendous pothole action, made all the worse by the fact that it was apparently high tide.
To be honest, I thought we had found our winner right there, but we still had one more viewer tip we wanted to check out. Since we were in the area, we wandered up to the stretch of road in the Flats known as The Irishtown Bend, and let me tell you folks, it was no malarkey.
These were no ordinary potholes. These were grade-A axle-crackers, and there were plenty of them. This place had everything we were looking for: quantity, quality, poor visibility. It's on a hill with a dramatic curve, hence the term "Irishtown Bend." It is distinctly hazardous, and hence we had found our champion.
So congratulations to the infamous Irishtown Bend on your well-earned title, and thanks to everyone who helped to guide us on this harrowing journey. May the road rise up to meet you, and may that road be relatively smooth, at least by Cleveland standards.