Pothole problem will only get worse unless province steps up

Winnipeg’s surest sign of spring isn’t melting snow or longer days. It’s pothole season — that annual stretch when driving across the city turns into a test of reflexes, patience and how much punishment your vehicle can take.

Once again, the streets have become a bone-rattling obstacle course. Drivers swerve to avoid craters beneath murky puddles. It can mean a blown tire, a bent rim or a suspension bill that arrives like an unwelcome tax notice.

And that’s essentially what it is: a hidden tax on anyone who drives in this city.

Every year, the same cycle plays out. Crews scramble to fill holes. City officials assure residents they’re doing their best. And Winnipeggers vent their frustration while bracing for the next jolt.

Then, as temperatures stabilize, the problem fades just enough to slip off the public radar — until the following spring, when it all starts over again and seems to get worse.

So it’s worth asking: when will Winnipeg ever catch up?

Because this is structural, predictable and decades in the making.

The freeze-thaw cycle is always the go-to explanation. Water seeps into cracks, freezes, expands and breaks the pavement apart. That’s all true.

But it’s also not unique. Plenty of cities endure harsh winters without their road networks collapsing into something that feels like a minefield every March and April.

The real problem is what happens — or doesn’t happen — the rest of the year.

For years, Winnipeg has relied heavily on patchwork repairs instead of long-term solutions. Potholes get filled, but the underlying roads continue to deteriorate.

Temporary fixes last weeks, sometimes days, before crews are sent back to the exact same spots. It’s a cycle of repetition that keeps roads barely driveable but never truly fixed.

Meanwhile, the backlog of streets needing full reconstruction — not surface patching, but complete rebuilds — continues to grow.

City hall knows this. The reports are there. The plans exist. And so does the price tag.

Fixing roads properly is expensive. Tearing them down to the base and rebuilding them costs far more upfront than filling potholes.

Every year a road isn’t properly rebuilt, it deteriorates further. What could have been a relatively straightforward rehabilitation becomes a far more costly reconstruction. Multiply that across a city the size of Winnipeg, and the financial hole becomes just as daunting as the physical ones drivers are dodging.

And then there’s the cost outside city hall’s books.

Pothole season hits drivers directly. Tires blow. Rims bend. Suspensions take a beating. Insurance claims spike, repair shops fill up and households absorb costs they shouldn’t have to bear. For many, it’s not just an annoyance. It’s a real financial burden.

So why does this keep happening?

Winnipeg is trying to maintain a road infrastructure it can’t afford, at least not under current fiscal realities. Years of urban expansion have stretched the network, leaving the city responsible for vast kilometres of roadway.

At the same time, it remains heavily dependent on property taxes to fund that infrastructure — a model that simply doesn’t generate enough revenue to keep up.

Property taxes are stable, but they don’t grow in step with construction costs, inflation or the mounting backlog of deferred maintenance. The result is a system that is permanently playing catch-up.

That’s where the province has to come into the picture.

Winnipeg is Manitoba’s economic engine. It generates a significant share of the province’s economic activity and, by extension, provincial tax revenue. But the city doesn’t see a proportional share of that growth revenue when it comes to funding the infrastructure that supports it.

That imbalance is a big part of the problem.

If the province is serious about economic growth, it should also be serious about ensuring the infrastructure that underpins that growth is properly funded. That means giving Winnipeg access to growth revenues or creating a more sustainable revenue-sharing model.

That wouldn’t be a bailout. It would be an overdue adjustment to a system that no longer reflects reality. Like all cities in Canada, Winnipeg is not a stand-alone order of government. It exists and operates under provincial legislation. The province has a responsibility to ensure it operates efficiently and effectively.

Winnipeggers aren’t expecting perfection. They understand winter takes a toll. But expecting roads that are safe, reasonably driveable and not in a constant state of disrepair isn’t asking too much.

Right now, even that modest standard feels out of reach.

Pothole season will pass, as it always does. The worst holes will be filled, the complaints will subside and driving will become a little less punishing.

But without a fundamental shift in both how Winnipeg funds its infrastructure and how it prioritizes long-term investment, the cycle is locked in.

Next spring, we’ll be right back here again — dodging holes, paying repair bills and asking the same question: When will the city ever catch up?

At this rate, not anytime soon.

tom.brodbeck@freepress.mb.ca