Pothole patching crews catching up after early start to season

Winnipeg — Winnipeg pothole crews have used significantly more patching material so far this year than they had at the same point last year.

Crews have used 422 tons of the filling material as of Monday compared to 350 tons last year.

“The frost was coming out of our roadway at a two week early stage so we were seeing an influx of pothole failures,” said Jim Berezowsky, Winnipeg’s manager of streets maintenance.

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That early onset of warm weather meant crews were out in full force earlier than usual to fill an estimated 12,000 potholes.

If the freeze-thaw cycle continues like the forecast suggests, the city is expecting another influx of potholes.

“When you see those overnight lows rise above zero again you’re going to see a period of time where those come back,” said Berezowsky.

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The city budget has $1.8 million set aside for pothole repair.

However, it’s still too early to predict if the early warm weather and freeze-thaw cycles will force the city to over spend, said public works committee chair person Janice Lukes.

“If ever we do go over that budget amount we will definitely find it within the budget to address the safety concerns,” said Lukes.