Mind the (multitude of) gaps

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/02/2024 (623 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

On Kimberly Avenue, near Gateway Road, motorists swerve around potholes like video game Mario karts avoiding banana peels.

Where fresh asphalt isn’t plugging the craters, holes in the concrete dot the road in the East Kildonan neighbourhood. Nearby, City of Winnipeg crews on Union Avenue East tend to a sinkhole between Chalmers Avenue East and Grey Street in front of George V School.

The unseasonable weather Winnipeg has experienced means both the City of Winnipeg and Manitoba Public Insurance have fielded exponentially more calls related to potholes much earlier than in years past.

Crews filled 9,360 potholes from Jan. 29 to Feb. 12 — in excess of 8,000 more than the same period in 2023, city spokesperson Kalen Qually said.

The drastic freeze-thaw cycle has affected municipal infrastructure and drivers and vehicles.

In the West End, an auto repair shop has patched up more than a dozen vehicles that had pothole damage, when it would usually do no such work at this time of year.

“It’s a little odd, it’s too early for this,” West End Tire mechanic Jeremie Pantel said Tuesday.

The garage usually fields annual requests for tire patches and rim repairs beginning in March and April, when the snow melts, but the calls have already started to roll in, he said.

“It’s probably because there’s less snow and stuff plugging up the holes.”

Despite more-seasonal weather descending on Winnipeg over the past week, freezing temperatures followed by a warm spell in January contributed to “unseasonable winter potholes,” Qually said.

Data from MPI show more claims related to potholes were made in the first 11 days of February than that entire month in the previous five years.

MPI spokesperson Kristy Rydz said at least 161 claims have been made to the public insurer so far this month, compared to 86 in February 2023, 55 in 2022 and 32 in 2021.

As well, Qually said the city has received more pothole complaints: 578 calls were logged Jan. 29-Feb. 12, compared to 84 during the same period last year.

Ewald Friesen, manager of government and community relations for CAA Manitoba, said the province is experiencing pothole season six weeks earlier than usual.

“A 60 to 70 (C) degree swing between winter and summer is murder on our roads,” he said, adding the city has more infrastructure than it has funds to maintain it. “This makes the budget very tight for the city when it comes to repairs.”

In its 2024 draft budget, the city has earmarked $138 million for road repairs and proposed a 3.5 per cent increase in property taxes. Revenue from two percentage points would be allocated to road repair and safety, amounting to $984 million over the next six years.

Friesen said while he’s pleased to see cash committed to street renewal, drivers still bear the brunt of aging infrastructure.

According to a survey of CAA members, 53 per cent of respondents have paid out of pocket for smaller repairs to their vehicle and only 13 per cent have filed a claim with MPI, deeming it more cost effective.

The survey shows nearly half of the respondents had experienced vehicle damage due to road conditions and consider potholes, uneven pavement and cracks in pavement as the biggest issues facing municipal infrastructure.

“It’s kind of an unsettling trend… It’s getting quite serious out there,” Friesen said.

Information provided by the city said crews are making temporary patches to potholes due to the wet, cold weather and may have to return several times to repair the same divot.

More permanent repairs are done beginning in May, weather permitting.

nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca