The road to hell really is paved with good intentions.
Actor and former politician Arnold Schwarzenegger filmed himself filling a pothole in a Los Angeles neighborhood on Tuesday, but city officials are saying that his good intentions were misguided.
Schwarzenegger posted the video to Twitter, writing in the caption: "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."
\u201cToday, after the whole neighborhood has been upset about this giant pothole that\u2019s been screwing up cars and bicycles for weeks, I went out with my team and fixed it. I always say, let\u2019s not complain, let\u2019s do something about it. Here you go.\u201d— Arnold (@Arnold) 1681244978
In the video, Schwarzenegger wears his classic Terminator shades while smoothing over the asphalt. A woman on the road is shown slowing down to stop and thank him, to which the former California governor responded: "You have to do it yourself. This is crazy, for three weeks, I've been waiting for this hole to be closed."
While Schwarzenegger made an effort to aide local residents, city officials have said that he made an error. According to a city spokesperson, the hole was not a pothole, but rather a service trench.
"This location is not a pothole, 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," they told NBC. "As is the case with similar projects impacting City streets, SoCal Gas will be required to repair the area once their work is completed."
Schwarzenegger also used asphalt to fill the hole, which was on a concrete road. It will likely not hold up over time, as asphalt erodes much faster than concrete, and it is recommended that holes are filled with the same material as the road.
A spokesperson for Schwarzenegger responded to the city in a statement to People, noting that regardless of the hole's purpose, it was still a danger to residents and needed to be dealt with in a timely fashion.
"I'd be curious if they truly believe the best solution was to block off one direction of traffic for 2-3 months and force cars and bicyclists to drive the wrong way dangerously?" they said, adding, "Honestly, the city is as bad at damage control as they are at performing basic services."
