Pothole repairs in Maryland have jumped 25% since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed and closed over a year ago. Local truckers say road conditions around places like Dundalk and Sparrows Point are worse than ever now that trucks have to take longer, unfamiliar routes.

What’s happening: The Baltimore County Department of Public Works said pothole fixes this past year reached 3,359, compared to 2,695 the year before the bridge disaster.

• Trucking company owner Christopher Miskimon said, “I haven’t seen the roads this bad in a long while. They used to be kept up pretty decent, but now it’s just getting worse and worse.”
• Yasmin Peral from Baltimore County Public Works says the extra truck traffic beats up the road repairs so fast that new patches only last a few months at most.

Why it matters: More trucks using smaller local streets are wearing them out much faster, making it tough for public works crews to keep up, according to News From The States.

The bottom line: Until the Key Bridge is rebuilt, heavy trucks and residents alike will face bumpy rides and slower routes in many Maryland neighborhoods.