WATCH: Mark McAllister details the cost of repairing Toronto’s pot holes.
TORONTO – City of Toronto staff are engaged in an all out blitz to fix the city’s pothole problem.
Toronto’s roads are crumbling and more than 30 crews have been deployed to fill the gaps as quickly as possible in the wake of a record-setting frigid winter.
“We started kicking it up a notch this week,” the city’s manager of road operations Hector Moreno said. “We’re averaging about 4,000 pothole repairs a day since Monday, so that brings our numbers up to about 50,000 to now.”
When the temperature rises, frost begins to dissipate and cracks can form in the pavement. Over time, it starts to break apart and form potholes.
Nearly 66,000 potholes had been repaired before this time last year after serious damage from the ice storm.
“The peak period for potholes is shortly after the month of February,” Moreno said. “The peak is March until end of June.”
Road repair crews slowly drive along streets that have been identified with serious problems and take the time to clean existing dirt and debris from the hole before filling it with hot asphalt. Special tools are used to press the material down and level it before moving on to the next one.
READ MORE: My car was damaged by a pothole, what can I do?
In colder weather, a quick fix is provided with asphalt and concrete mixed with chemicals which make the two bond quicker.
Drivers, meanwhile, have to be on the lookout for fear of damaging their vehicle after dropping into a small crater.
“If you hit it hard enough you can deal with thousands of dollars easily,” Glennalan Motors President Alan Gelman said.
“Don’t forget, you’re dealing with front wheel drive cars or all wheel drive cars, all the mechanics are in the front of it.”
Swerving to try and avoid hitting a pothole isn’t recommended with the potential for hitting cyclists and other drivers.
“The best thing to do is to slow down and not hit your brakes because if you hit your brakes, you might do more damage,” CAA spokesperson Caroline Grech said. “Just try to keep a reasonable speed. Don’t try to hit it at a really high speed if you can help it.”
The city is expecting to spend nearly $6 million this year on pothole repairs. Approximately $500,000 will be used this week alone.
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