The long, harsh winter is almost over but the spring thaw is showing the wear and tear on roads from salt and sand and the potholes appear to be bigger than ever.
Calgarians have launched more complaints about potholes this year than in the past.
One resident told CTV News that he bent all four of his rims on a pothole in the northeast and another woman tweeted about a pothole so big it could swallow up a Smartcar.
The city says there are more potholes this year and that the constant freeze and thaw cycle of winter has been especially hard on the asphalt.
“With the freeze-thaw cycle, what happens is that it gets cold so the asphalt is at a certain temperature and then it warms up and it will contract which then sometimes causes cracks which lead to potholes," said Carissa Vescio with the City of Calgary Roads Department.
The city has an annual pothole repair program and asks people to report them to 311 so crews can fill them in.
Crews check roadways throughout the year for potholes and major roads are inspected twice a month.
They then assess the problem and rate it on a severity scale from one to five. Those potholes that are a five are the most severe and are scheduled for repairs first.
For more information, visit the City of Calgary pothole repair page.
(With files from Elissa Carpenter)
