Lethbridge city crews prepare for busy pothole season

With temperatures fluctuating throughout the winter, and adding on snow and ice, City of Lethbridge officials say it's the perfect recipe for potholes.

LETHBRIDGE -

Drivers in Lethbridge may be in for a bumpy ride this spring.

"We had a really busy winter with lots of snow and ice, so that's delayed our work on potholes," said Juliane Ruck, transportation operations manager with the City of Lethbridge.

"We are getting ready to go with hot asphalt being made in the coming weeks."

With temperatures fluctuating throughout the winter, and adding on snow and ice, officials say it's the perfect recipe for potholes.

"This winter, with the freeze-thaw action and lots of moisture, that increases the possibility for potholes to form," Ruck said.

Last year was a busy time for city crews who filled roughly 400 potholes but Ruck suspects this year will be even more so.

"Our crews are out any time when the road surface is clear of ice and we are focusing on articular and collector roads and fix them constantly," she said.

"Residents might not notice we are out there, but we are out there trying to prioritize those major roads."

Crews are currently using Instant Patch or cold mix before switching to hot asphalt in the middle of April.

"The ice needs to be melted and dried off before we can fix the holes properly," Ruck explained.

"We need to clean them out and then the asphalt, and sometimes it can be challenging in older neighbourhoods where there is shade – it takes longer for the holes to dry up."

More than 10 to 15 staff will be filling potholes each shift this spring.

"Our big spring street-sweeping program, plus the pothole crew, so they will be working from mid-April to end of May beginning of June – that's when we focus on articular and collector roads and after that, we will start to work on residential roads," Ruck added.

Residents can report large potholes to the city's 311.