Even with snow still on the ground, potholes are already popping up across Montreal, which is why the city said it’s kicking off its annual pothole repair operations on Wednesday.
“It will take some time, but give it a few days and Montrealers will see a difference,” said city spokesperson Philippe Sabourin.
In Montreal, potholes are a sure sign of warmer weather, explained École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS) engineering professor Alan Carter.
“Everything is thawing, so water goes into the asphalt and combined with traffic, the ground just explodes and forms all these small holes, which turn into potholes,” he said.
Starting tomorrow, 12 pothole-patching trucks will be deployed across the city. Each vehicle can fill up to 300 holes a day, said Sabourin.
“Those trucks are efficient and most of the time it takes them less than two minutes to fill up a pothole,” he added.
But no matter how many holes are filled, it seems Montreal can’t keep up, said CAA-Quebec spokesperson David Marcille.
“Quebec has aging infrastructure that needs maintenance, but unfortunately, it hasn’t been done properly in the past few years,” he said.
That neglect comes at a cost — for the city, the province and for drivers, Marcille added.
“Anything related to the suspension—your tires, your mags—can get damaged if you drive too fast over potholes,” he said.
According to Carter, the only solution is for the city to further invest in year-round road maintenance.
“We would have fewer cracks and deteriorating pavement, so we’d end up with fewer potholes,” he said.
One reason why this year might be worse is that it’s not just the weather that causes the holes to form — heavy machinery, like snow plows, also take a toll on the roads.
“The number of snow removal operations carried out very well could also have an impact,” said Sabourin.
To avoid damaging their vehicles and worsening the state of potholes, drivers are reminded to slow down on the road and avoid braking directly on potholes.
And to make sure safety is prioritized, drivers should also avoid swerving— even if it means hitting a pothole.
