London city crews on patrol for potholes following recent freeze, thaw cycle

In the wake of this week’s temperature thaw and rain showers, city officials are asking motorists to report any potholes they discover on their commute.

Workers were out patrolling for and patching up potholes across the city on Friday, particularly along higher-traffic roadways, said John Parsons, the city’s manager of transportation and roadside operations.

Parsons said with the rain and warmer temperatures, water can seep through existing cracks in the roads and loosen up the road base.

“On roads that have heavy traffic, … you can start to see areas where the asphalt will crack up and pop out creating a pothole,” Parsons said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "On roads that have heavy traffic, … you can start to see areas where the asphalt will crack up and pop out creating a pothole," Parsons said.

“When the temperatures creep up above zero … that’s when you have to keep an eye out for potholes.”

Crews could be seen patching up several potholes along Highbury Avenue south of Hamilton Road early Friday morning, a major high-traffic section of roadway.

“We’re patching it with cold mix asphalt, and we also have these interesting little heater boxes. They’re heated by propane. They have asphalt chunks, and that turns into a hot mix asphalt. We’re putting that into the potholes as well.”

Although city crews are out patrolling for potholes on a regular basis, the city says motorists can report any they find using the Service London website.