The “giant pothole” that Arnold Schwarzenegger said he recently filled on a street in his Los Angeles neighborhood was actually a trench that had been dug for utility work, according to the city.

Southern California Gas Co. had covered the trench with temporary asphalt that was to be replaced with a permanent surface, the Los Angeles Department of Public Works said in a statement.”
The statement indicated that we have informed the Gas Company of the problem and requested them to maintain the pavement on the site until they construct permanent paving.

This video still image provided by The Office of Arnold Schwarzenegger, shows former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, repairing what he called a pot hole on a street in his Los Angeles neighborhood on Tuesday, April 11, 2023. The Office of Arnold Schwarzenegger via AP

Amidst the heavy rains that have caused numerous potholes, many commuters were frustrated. Schwarzenegger resonated with the public by posting a video of himself and his team filling a pothole with packaged asphalt patch. “Today, after the whole neighborhood has been upset about this giant pothole that’s been damaging cars and bicycles for weeks, I went out with my team and fixed it,” he tweeted. “I always say, let’s not complain, let’s do something about it. Here you go.”

A driver passing by stopped to express gratitude to the actor, who not only filled the large pothole but also a smaller one.

According to SoCal Gas, an upgrade of the pipeline system at the site was finished on January 26th. However, due to the rain, the permanent paving was delayed, which typically takes around 30 days to complete. After Schwarzenegger’s video was posted on social media, the utility’s crew returned to the site on Wednesday and improved the patch he had completed to make it more robust. They plan to finish the permanent paving of the site by Tuesday.

The former governor tweeted on Friday, “Teamwork. Happy to help speed this up, and thanks to the crew for pumping up my fix.”