It’s been a rough winter in Montreal on the weather front, with snow one day, rain the next and then a sudden dip in temperature.
The freeze-thaw cycle has wreaked havoc on city streets, according to city of Montreal spokesperson Philippe Sabourin.
“Last year, we fixed 180,000 potholes,” he said. “We’re expecting to get more potholes this year, because the winter was so rough. There was more than twice the average swing of temperatures, and each time, that brings more potholes.”
In Saint-Henri, the situation on Yamaska Street has gotten pretty bad. Some residents are likening the potholes on the small street to craters.
“It’s pretty rough, it’s caused a lot of damage to my tires,” he said. “Every day it’s like an off-road trek just trying to get to work.”
Domnic Pouliot agreed.
“Right now it’s bad, but it’s the first time in years that it’s like that actually,” he said.
WATCH: Potholes appearing as Montreal weather fluctuates
He, too, is blaming the weather.
“With the winter we got, with the thickness of the ice…I think when they removed the ice, that’s when they damaged the streets,” Pouliot said.
Sabourin explained the city is pushing to get the potholes fixed as quickly as possible.
“We have 16 trucks on the major roads of Montreal,” he said, adding that the individual boroughs have trucks and crews to deal with residential streets.
Sabourin is also urging residents to report any potholes in their neighbourhood using the city app called: Montreal service aux citoyens.
“Take a picture of the pothole and then you send your pictures to the city of Montreal and we will do the follow up,” he said.
Montreal is expecting to spend $3.5 million this season to fix the potholes on major arteries. Boroughs have their own budgets to get the work done on secondary streets.
READ MORE: Icy conditions in Montreal as drop in temperature freezes puddles and slush
Sabourin, however, explained that preventative work will also be carried out throughout the summer months.
“We we will continue to do some major construction work to fix it for the long term,” he said.
“You have to understand that potholes come only with streets that need to be fixed. If there’s no cracks on the street, then you don’t have any infiltration of water and that helps to keep away the holes.”
WATCH: Pierrefonds drivers navigate pothole season
Back in Saint-Henri, Giron hopes Yamaska Street won’t be neglected.
“They don’t really pay much attention to the smaller streets,” he said. “Especially after winter. It’s pretty bad.”
For his part, Pouliot is ready to give the city a chance.
“If they fix that quickly I won’t complain,” he said. “It is what it is. It’s the thing when you live in Montreal in the winter.”
— With files from Global’s Phil Carpenter
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