Arnold Schwarzenegger learned the hard way not to get involved with public infrastructure after he tried to fix a pothole in his Los Angeles neighborhood.
Schwarzenegger, 75, who is best known for his action star movie roles in films such as The Terminator and for being the former governor of California, took matters into his own hands when he decided to fill a "giant pothole" in the Brentwood area.
The film star posted a video to his social media showing how he and his staff went down to the site where motorists and cyclists had reportedly complained about the dent in the ground for weeks.
He was filmed filling up the hole with bitumen as a local woman drove past and stopped to say thank you for their efforts. Schwarzenegger told her, "this is crazy, for three weeks we've been waiting for this hole to be closed."
"Today, after the whole neighborhood has been upset about this giant pothole that's been screwing up cars and bicycles for weeks, I went out with my team and fixed it. I always say, let's not complain, let's do something about it. Here you go," Schwarzenegger captioned the video.
However, the alleged pothole was not that at all, but in fact a service trench to allow the local gas company, SoCal Gas, to complete pre-approved work in the area which should be completed by May.
"This location is not a pothole," a spokesperson for the City of Los Angeles told NBC Los Angeles. "It's a service trench that relates to active, permitted work being performed at the location by SoCal Gas, who expects the work to be completed by the end of May."
The spokesperson added: "As is the case with similar projects impacting City streets, SoCal Gas will be required to repair the area once their work is completed."
Newsweek contacted Schwarzenegger's publicists by email and his chief of staff via Twitter for comment.
It is not known if LA's Department of Public Works is yet to repair the service trench.
Just last week, LA Mayor Karen Bass updated locals on how the city was working to repair 19,000 potholes caused by severe winter storms.
"City staff are pulling out all the stops, but not just to prepare every pothole that's reported, but also to be proactive. That means driving across the city throughout this district and all others to assess the conditions of our streets, identify and repair damage right way," Bass said in a press conference on Thursday, March 6.
Newsweek contacted Bass' office by email for comment.
The Los Angeles Bureau of Street Services said it received 19,279 requests to fix potholes since December and repaired 17,459 at the time of Bass' media conference.
The bureau reported getting 3,400 pothole repair requests after winter storms in January.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Shannon Power is a Greek-Australian reporter, but now calls London home. They have worked as across three continents in print, ... Read more
