The City of Edmonton expects it will fill about half a million potholes over the course of 2023, the same huge number it filled in 2022.
“Last year, for all of 2022, we did over 500,000 pothole repairs,” said Caitlin Zerebeski, director of infrastructure maintenance.
“It’s an impressive number. Our crews do a fantastic job.
“We’ve done 29,500 year-to-date so far for 2023, and we anticipate to be around that half-million pothole-repair number for this year as well,” she said during an update on Wednesday.
So far in 2023, crews have filled more than 29,500 potholes on Edmonton roads and alleys. At this time last year, 40,000 potholes had been filled.
Complaints to 311 reporting potholes are down so far this year compared with the same time in 2022: 1,600 notifications compared with 6,000.
“The reason for the decrease in the number of repairs comparative to this time last year is that crews have been out doing proactive repairs,” Zerebeski said. “They did a lot of repairs in November, December of last year.
“Due to the weather this year, the crews were able to be on the roads a little bit more frequently. January of last year was a heavy snow precipitation month in 2022. In 2023, we didn’t have the same weather pattern, which allowed the crews to be on the road.”
Edmonton pothole crews respond to complaints and fill potholes year-round. This proactive approach has been going on for three years, Zerebeski said.
“That proactive approach means we’re getting to potholes before they become problematic for citizens and before they become bigger through freeze-thaw cycles.”
The city follows industry best practice, which means cleaning the area before using hot asphalt and tar.
“We inspect every 311 notification we receive and we ensure that we’re prioritizing them based on size, severity and location of the pothole,” Zerebeski said.
The city also employs district inspectors who drive around in search of potholes while also responding to 311 complaints to assess the priority.
“Arterials and collectors and anything that’s a main commuter route is our highest priority and we’ll repair those first,” Zerebeski said. “Then we move into residential and alleys.
“With the snow coming out of the residential neighbourhood areas, you’ll see our crews starting to move into there around the May/June mark.”
To report a pothole in Edmonton, submit a complaint online, through the 311 app or by calling 311.