You could be in for a bumpy and expensive drive around Winnipeg as more and more potholes rear their ugly heads — but you’ll likely have to wait until next month before the city can make any permanent repairs.
Brian McCarthy’s days as a courier with Red River Messenger Courier are filled with jerks and swerves lately as the spring melt reveals hundreds of potholes on Winnipeg’s roads.
“Complete nightmare. I would say this is the worst year I’ve ever encountered. I’ve been doing this for 21 years,” McCarthy said.
His routes are so bad, his van barely survived a few close calls, he added.
“I’ve gone axel-deep two or three times, and it was, I was worried at one point, I couldn’t get out,” McCarthy told Global News on Tuesday.
Rough streets aren’t helpful in a job where he’s up against the clock, he said.
“It’s literally terrifying. I really wish that they would get the pothole guys out now.”
The city says it’s too early for permanent fixes using hot asphalt. Those will start by mid-May, a spokesperson said Tuesday.
In the meantime, crews are out making temporary patches with “cold mix” — which is designed for use in cool, wet weather.
“Since this is only a temporary fix, crews may have to return several times to repair the same pothole because of wet road conditions until weather conditions allow us to switch to hot asphalt,” they said.
People can contact 311 or fill out an online form to flag problem areas, the spokesperson continued.
But Manitoba Public Insurance says this season’s an improvement. At this time last year, Winnipeggers had filed more than four times more pothole-related claims, totaling 1,761 claims from January to April in 2022 compared to 396 so far in 2023.
However, MPI’s data suggests this year’s figures are outpacing those from 2019 to 2021.
But that’s little comfort to McCarthy, who’ll be on the hook for any damage to his vehicle as an independent contractor.
“There’s potential for oodles of damage, and thousands upon thousands of dollar damage,” he said.
The city recommends drivers adjust to conditions and slow down.