Stuck on long road to repairs

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This article was published 07/07/2022 (1197 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Brett Duseigne is waiting patiently for the worst road in Winnipeg to get fixed.

He co-owns The Battery Man at Saskatchewan Avenue and St. James Street, and said in over three decades of seeing people navigate the constant potholes on Saskatchewan Avenue between Century and King Edward streets, no year has been as bad as this one.

“It has been a complete nightmare for the longest time,” he said Wednesday, as vehicles slowed to a crawl and bumped along the road outside his business.

Duseigne spent the spring and summer watching drivers have to stop after popping their tires on the potholes, some of which have been patched but need a permanent fix. He recommends customers take a different route.

A few years ago, he wanted to close his Saskatchewan Avenue entrance because people were cutting through his lot to avoid the pitted road. The city said it wouldn’t put up a curb at the entrance because the road needed too many repairs.

“I don’t think they’ve touched them for so long that they’ve regressed so much (and) now it’s going to cost so much more to fix them. All they can afford is patchwork. I just don’t think they’ve got it the budget,” he said.

“With all the money that they’re spending, the government’s getting for petrol tax from all the gas increases, (aren’t) they supposed to go to infrastructure repair? Well, we haven’t seen it.”

A spokesperson from the city said plans are underway to reconstruct Saskatchewan Avenue between Sherwin Road and St. James Street, which includes the potholed section from Century to King Edward.

“In terms of pothole patching, the ongoing wet weather has proved to be challenging this season as dry conditions are more conducive to effective pothole repairs,” the spokesman said in an email.

“That said, crews are continuing to make longer lasting pothole repairs with hot asphalt across the city, weather permitting, with a focus on main routes and bus routes and collector streets that carry 80 per cent of the traffic travelling at higher speeds, which includes Saskatchewan Avenue.”

The spokesperson said repairs are set to begin later this summer. Duseigne said he received a preliminary construction notice from the city a few weeks ago that said the road would be closed until sometime in August. A second construction notice, which has not been sent out yet, will be distributed to nearby businesses one week in advance of the repairs.

Saskatchewan Avenue received the distinction of being named the winner of CAA Manitoba’s Worst Roads condition earlier this summer. It was one of a record-setting 417 roads nominated by the public.

It came as no surprise to commercial real estate agent David Bergman, who frequents the area. The street is always busy, he said, and he’s surprised the city hasn’t already fixed it.

“It seems to me the city has identified it as an issue. I just find it hard to believe, just out of frustration, that it’s the first week of July, they’ve been aware of this since the spring, and it doesn’t appear to me that they’ve been down that road and touched it at all,” he said.

Duseigne said he hopes the city gets started soon.

“It would be nice for them to fix it up,” he said. “I’d have a lot of happy people.”

The city has received about 50 service requests through 311 about Saskatchewan Avenue potholes this year, and 9,638 calls related to potholes across Winnipeg.

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca