Kitchener pothole repairs in full swing

We might not be done with snow, but the City of Kitchener has begun their annual spring repairs on potholes on city roads.

Shain Spooner is the operations supervisor of the city's roads department, and he said crews actually work on potholes all year round.

“As the winter goes on, and weather becomes better, we have more crew performing the work as required. During winter months we can't really address the [potholes] with the conditions, but we do, as the weather permits, allocate resources to fixing any potholes.”

That means that the city will be maximizing optimal weather conditions all summer long to address potholes, as long as it's a dry day.

Despite this winter seeing more consistent temperatures, Spooner doesn't believe there are any more or any less potholes than a typical winter. He explained how potholes form on our roads.

“Water is probably the biggest cause of the failure. Whether it's freezing or just sitting on the roadway, it gets under the asphalt and causes failure with high-volume traffic. Drier weather coming will minimize the amount water that is staying on the roadway, and we will have a better chance of combining good, hot asphalt and repairing those quicker.”  

Spooner said staff and equipment will be deployed to help combat the most problematic areas to protect vehicles and cyclists.

“During spring time, we're out there just about 24/7 right now, the crew sizes can fluctuate depending on how nice the weather is out there and how productive we can be. With the weather improving, repairs will become longer-lasting and more permanent.”

A vehicle running over a pothole can deal over $2000 worth of damage, impacting the tire, the suspension and the ability to steer.

“[The work we do] is very important,” said Spooner. “We take the safety of vehicles and cyclists in priority sequence. We want to make sure that everyone is getting to where they want to be safely.”

If you see a dangerous pothole on a Kitchener road, you can report the problem online here, or call the city's line at 519-741-2345.

Both the Region and City of Waterloo as well as the City of Cambridge have their own numbers for reporting road issues. They are as follows:

Region of Waterloo: 519-575-4400

City of Waterloo: 519-886-2310

City of Cambridge: 519-740-4671