MIAMI – If you've driven on Interstate 95 southbound recently, you may have noticed some of the interstate is in need of serious repair.
The section is from the Golden Glades South to 125th Street -- possibly the worst three-mile stretch of I-95 in South Florida.
Southbound drivers who make it through the Golden Glades are greeted with a treacherous patchwork of cracked concrete, uneven lanes and repaired potholes. Drivers have to hold on to the wheel tightly as their cars bounce down the highway.
"It looks like they've patched everything," said mechanic Bill Bruening, of Hallandale Complete Auto. "And roughly patched it, too."
Local 10 took Bruening along for a bumpy ride down I-95 to get his take on how the rough road can rough up your car.
"Now this is what kills shocks, ball joints, bushings," said Bruening.
Bruening said the parts designed to absorb the bumps in the road get pushed to the limit on uneven surfaces, especially when you're moving at 65 miles an hour.
"When you have road that have potholes and are in disrepair, it just beats up suspension parts," Bruening said.
Take too many hard hits, Bruening said you can knock your car out of alignment or loosen important steering components.
The question is how was the stretch of I-95 allowed to get so bad. The answer is because crews are working to make it better.
"The actual concrete slabs are the areas where the repairs are taking place," said Juliette Valencia, with the Florida Department of Transportation.
Valencia said crews have already repaired more than 700 potholes, cracks and rough spots on the road; They've got about another 300 to fix and then the entire road will be resurfaced. It's a $5.4 million project the state hopes to have complete by the end of the year.
"Keep in mind that these are all safety improvements that are taking place, that although it's a little bumpy right now, it definitely will be a more pleasant ride," said Valencia.