Arnold Schwarzenegger angers LA city officials as a giant ‘pit’ he took on to fill in is revealed to be a ‘service trench’
Arnold Schwarzenegger has come under fire from government officials after taking it upon himself to plug a giant ‘pit’.
The actor, 75, filmed tackling a nearby pothole after waiting several weeks for the problem to be resolved with no luck.
However, a representative for the City of Los Angeles has now claimed that it was not a pothole after all.
They told NBC Los Angeles, “This is not a pit. It is a service slot that relates to active, permitted work being performed at the site by SoCalGas, which expects work to be completed by the end of May.
“As is the case with similar projects impacting city streets, SoCalGas will need to repair the area once their work is complete.”
Oops: Arnold Schwarzenegger has come under fire from government officials after he took it upon himself to plug a giant ‘pit’
According to ABC7, the utility added that because the road is concrete, not asphalt, Schwarzenegger’s nifty work may only be a temporary solution.
MailOnline has reached out to Schwarzenegger’s representatives for comment.
The former governor of California shared a minute-long video on his Twitter page on Wednesday of him working with another man to close the large pothole he says has been plaguing his neighborhood for weeks.
In the video, which has been viewed 4.5 million times, Schwarzenegger pours a bag of Quikrete into the pit and begins spreading it with a shovel in the evening.
A woman in a white car drives up to thank the team of workers before realizing who’s doing the heavy lifting.
“Oh, Arnold!” she exclaimed, seeing who was responsible for helping the neighbours.
“You’re welcome,” he said. ‘You have to do it yourself. This is crazy. I waited three weeks for this gap to be closed.’
The Terminator actor captioned the video, “Today, after the whole neighborhood was upset about this giant pothole that has been ruining cars and bikes for weeks, I went out with my team and fixed it.
‘I always say: let’s not complain, let’s do something about it. Please.’
Filled in: The actor, 75, filmed tackling a nearby pit after waiting several weeks for the problem to be resolved, only to reveal it was a service trench
The Terminator actor wore brown work boots, a brown bomber jacket, an all black athleisure look, dark sunglasses and a white beard to do the neighborhood work.
Schwarzenegger served as governor of California from 2003 to 2011.
Daniel Ketchell, a Schwarzenegger spokesman, said Brentwood residents have repeatedly called for repairs since winter storms caused potholes and cracks on local roads.
The eleven atmospheric rivers that hit California this year have eased the drought that has plagued the state for years, but have also created potholes and cracks in local streets and highways.
Road crews are struggling to keep up with the demand for repairs after the exceptionally stormy season.
The case is apparently no different in the affluent enclave of Bel Air, where Schwarzenegger lives in a palatial home spanning nearly 15,000 square feet.
Mayor Karen Bass last week announced a plan to do something about what she called an unprecedented number of damaged streets in the city. Since Dec. 30, Los Angeles has received 19,692 service calls for repairs, and by April 6, crews had plugged at least 17,549 potholes, officials said.
Shocking: Extreme flooding in California in recent months has opened up numerous potholes (a car is pictured after falling into a sinkhole in Chatsworth, California in January)