Massive pothole, utility work present obstacles on St. Elmo Ave. (Photos)

Watch out for the massive pothole in the "hot right" turn lane from St. Elmo Avenue to Woodmont Avenue. It's a tire-size sinkhole, filled with rainwater. No word if there are any alligators down there.

Easier to avoid, but a problem if you wanted to use street parking on the north side of the next block of St. Elmo by Tapp'd Bethesda, was the utility work going on there.

BANG! Watch out for this totally-destroyed section of Arlington Rd. in Bethesda!

One of my Twitter followers tweeted an accurate description of the section of northbound Arlington Road near Hampden Lane yesterday. Not only does it have nasty, "third-world" potholes in it, but there is water from a mystery source pooling in the street in and around those potholes.

Is there an undetected water main break here?

Unfortunately, I drove through this before checking my Twitter feed Friday night. I somehow managed to steer around the worst, but I recommend you avoid this area until this disaster is fixed. In fact, the street looked even worse than it did in this photo approximately 2 hours later. I believe the water was deeper, as well.

Photo: @rachaelheisler/Twitter

Nasty pothole on Wisconsin Avenue in Bethesda (Photos)

This pothole across from Gartenhaus on Wisconsin Avenue, on the southbound side just north of Leland Street, is one of many offenders around town. Drive carefully!

NASTY POTHOLE AT 6900 WISCONSIN AVENUE IN DOWNTOWN BETHESDA (PHOTOS)

Heads up:  A large pothole has developed in front of the Post Office at 6900 Wisconsin Avenue (southbound lanes).

WATCH OUT FOR THAT - OUCH! - TRENCH ACROSS RIVER ROAD IN BETHESDA! (PHOTO)

A trench - likely man-made - has appeared on River Road in Bethesda, between Ridgefield Road and Whole Foods (Kenwood Station shopping center).

Part of it appears to have collapsed slightly, creating a pothole rut in places (enlarge photo to see more detail). Apparently, somebody thought this was a brilliant idea.

Just wanted to pass this along, as the polar temperatures are likely to only make it worse by the time the evening rush hour comes around.

Pass it on, if you know people who take River Road through there.

WOODMONT AVENUE POTHOLE FILLED (PHOTO)

A pothole on Woodmont Avenue that had jolted Bethesda drivers in recent days has been vanquished.  Only an hour after I reported it to Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center Director Ken Hartman, a Montgomery County Department of Transportation crew was on scene.

In short order, the hole was filled.  This is the second time in two years I have reported a pothole to Ken, and it has been immediately been addressed.  It's the little things that count, and that's how the BCCRSC staff and Bethesda Urban Partnership keep downtown Bethesda in such good shape.

Be prepared for potholes and water main breaks in the days ahead, as we continue to experience the kind of temperature swings that cause those two problems.

NASTY WOODMONT AVENUE POTHOLE BEDEVILS BETHESDA DRIVERS (PHOTO)

As I tweeted last evening, there is a rather nasty pothole on Woodmont Avenue at Edgemoor, in the second lane from the right as you drive southbound towards Bethesda Row.  (Reason #678 why you should follow me on Twitter @BethesdaRow).

This is typical, given the extreme temperature shifts we've experienced recently, and hopefully it will be filled in by the time you read this.

But in case it hasn't been, I wanted to give you a heads up.