RI Opens Pothole Hotline

Rhode Island drivers can now dial 511 to report a pothole, and they can watch that report move on a public map instead of disappearing into a voicemail box. Governor Dan McKee and the Rhode Island Department of Transportation rolled out the hotline and dashboard on April 8, 2026. (wpri.com) The phone line is not a new call center built from scratch. The state repurposed its long-running 5-1-1 traveler line so pothole complaints can go to a live operator 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. (rhodeislandcurrent.com) The online side is simple on purpose: a red dot marks a reported pothole, and the dot turns green after crews fill it. Rhode Island’s transportation department says the dashboard tracks repairs in real time on state roads. (turnto10.com) By April 9, the live dashboard already showed 675 statewide pothole calls in 2026, with 627 closed and 48 still open. That split gives drivers a rough picture of backlog without waiting for a press release. (arcgis.com) Rhode Island is doing this after a winter officials described as one of the harshest the state has seen. Freeze-thaw cycles are what turn small cracks into wheel-sized holes, because water gets into the pavement, freezes, expands, and breaks the surface apart. (wpri.com) (dot.ri.gov) The state is also starting from a weak road network. The Rhode Island Department of Transportation says 40 percent of state roads are rated fair or worse, and it notes that potholes are especially common on secondary roads. (dot.ri.gov) That distinction matters because the new system only covers state-maintained roads. If the hole is on a city or town street, the report still has to go to the local public works department instead of the state. (dot.ri.gov) (arcgis.com) Rhode Island also has a separate pothole damage claim process for drivers whose cars are hit hard enough to need repairs. The state says pothole claims must be filed within 7 days of the incident, and a Rhode Island law caps pothole reimbursement at $300. (dot.ri.gov) So this is less a flashy infrastructure project than a traffic-management fix: one phone number, one public map, and one visible queue for road crews. In a state where commutes can cross multiple jurisdictions in under an hour, that kind of sorting system can save more time than another promise to “look into it.” (rhodeislandcurrent.com) (dot.ri.gov)