Pothole season has begun: City looking to repair same amount as last year
Posted April 28, 2022 4:00 pm.
Last Updated April 29, 2022 4:22 pm.
You might have heard that no two snowflakes look the same, but in the spring in Edmonton, it may be more correct to say no two potholes are the same.
“We have repaired just over 63,000 potholes,” says City of Edmonton Infrastructure Maintenance Acting Director Caitlin Zerebeski. “We received over 7,000 notifications for pothole repairs.”
The City of Edmonton says they’re on track to fixing around the same amount of potholes on roads as last year, which was more than 720,000. They say they’re counting on residents to continue reporting potholes through 311, and many potholes can be fixed within five days but could take longer.
They’ve seen what happens over at Trail Tire Auto Centers, says manager Todd Vincent. “Within two days, we had six cars that actually hit potholes out in the highways and around town and damaged wheels and damaged tires. And the company that does a lot of our wheel repairs is so overwhelmed – they’re probably about two weeks behind just fixing the tires – fixing the rims, sorry.”
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Tire specialists say it’s natural at this time of the year to see customers who’ve had tires ruined or misaligned by potholes.
Vincent told CityNews, “One of the best things you can do is make sure your tire pressures are set to manufacturer’s recommended specs. You’ve got to have proper airflow of course in the tire – if it doesn’t have enough air in the tire, the tires are going to pinch, and it’s better chances of wrecking it.”
If you’re one of the unfortunate residents whose car has been damaged by potholes in the road, you may be able to claim it from the city.
Zerebeski says “If anybody feels that they’ve experienced a damage to their vehicle as a result of our infrastructure, we do encourage them to go to edmonton.ca to report a pothole and [it] allows them to submit a claim to the city for review and adjudication.”
