Anyone driving the stretch of Lakeville Highway approaching Highway 37 — and that is more than 18,000 people per day — is familiar with the cracks and crevices that warp and warp the two-lane highway.

It’s a frustrating and sometimes frightening experience for motorists and local residents who, out of desperation, have made a plea to the signpost where the highways intersect. “DECIDE THIS WAY,” it reads in large white stenciled letters in all capital letters. “ROUGH ROAD,” warns an official warning sign nearby.

“It’s been years, and it’s getting worse and worse,” said Paul Decker, who lives nearby. “It’s just dangerous,” he said, noting that cars frequently leave their lanes to avoid potholes. ‘You’ll see. I will do it. If you specifically follow the road, it’s quite a ride.”

The stakes have only risen as Lakeville has become a major thoroughfare. “When we moved here in 1986, we drove to the end of our driveway and sat there for 15 minutes before we saw a car,” Decker said. “Now you have to sit there for five minutes before you can get out.”

Officials are well aware. A Sonoma County Local Traffic Safety Plan 2020 called Lakeville, which connects Petaluma to SR 37 and the Bay Area, “one of the busiest roads in the county” that is “responsible for a large number of collisions resulting in serious injury or death.”

“There is no controversy or denial that this stretch of road is dangerous,” said Gold Ridge Protection District Fire Chief Shepley Schroth-Cary. “Anecdotally, when accidents happen on that road, there’s no barrier, the shoulders are narrow, there’s often very high speeds, it’s one of the main ways people get in and out of Sonoma County.”

Historically, Schroth-Cary said, the area where Lakeville and Highway 37 has been a hot spot for emergency response.

In the seven miles of Lakeville that falls under Sonoma County jurisdiction, there have been 41 collisions since 2022, according to county data obtained by the Press Democrat.

There have also been 22 repair requests, including four this year, submitted to the county by drivers and even California Highway Patrol officers.

“Hit a HUGE pothole…It felt like a tire or wheel ripped off. Worst pothole we’ve ever had in (Sonoma County),” one person said in a July 2022 entry. “Please take a look and fix it. It’s criminal.”

Another woman reported that she was afraid her RV would overturn after she took a dip in Lakeville, about a quarter mile from the 37 point.

“Dangerous conditions on Lakeville Hwy have worsened in recent days,” a CHP officer said in December 2022. “Major dip in the roadway, fear of a motorcycle veering off the roadway.”

In March 2023, CHP again reported “potholes in the usual location,” about 10 inches deep and three feet wide, with “cars swerving to avoid them,” according to the report log.

Kasey Williams of the Sonoma County Department of Infrastructure said the county is not ignoring the problem. It’s true: There have been a dozen projects since 2022 to patch potholes, profile pavement, seal cracks and repair roadside drainage, totaling more than $180,000, summaries from the work orders.