Potholes wreaking havoc on Metro Vancouver roads
Posted January 4, 2023 7:37 am.
Last Updated January 4, 2023 11:25 am.
A growing number of potholes are puncturing Vancouver’s streets after a period of cold weather froze the pavement and is now getting thawed out with the warmer temperatures.
The owners of a Burnaby auto shop say they’ve been seeing a bump in clients because of folks who have had a meeting with a pothole.
“About 10 to 15 per cent of the appointments are related to that now and yeah, it’s an increase from like a normal day,” Roshie Automotive co-owner Oliver Talento told CityNews. “Mainly we get a lot of blown-out tires that come in – and that’s the minimum.
Related Article: City of Vancouver works on ‘growing number’ of pothole repairs
“Attached could be a control arm issue, … links, rods, stuff like that. Those are the main ones that we’ve been seeing since the weather’s kind of calmed down. The snow has been gone and a lot of potholes have been popping up.”
Co-owner Paulo Episcope says they recently had a customer come in with extensive damage to their vehicle — not just a blown-out tire or bent rim.
“We had recently a Mercedes ML350 come in. That repair ended up costing the customer almost $3,500 just from all the damage from hitting potholes.”
This time of year, an increase in potholes can occur due to asphalt freeze/thaw cycles. City crews are on-hand to repair them.
Report potholes online: https://t.co/fC7qHfJ4b5
For dangerous/larger potholes, please call 24/7 Dispatch at 604-270-8721#RichmondBC pic.twitter.com/SzmBcYz7Zo— City of Richmond BC (@Richmond_BC) January 4, 2023
The City of Vancouver says potholes typically form when water beneath pavement freezes – starting a crack. It then thaws, making an even bigger crack, and add traffic on top of that, you’ve got holes plaguing the streets.
In a statement, the city says staff are out working on the potholes, and are currently prioritizing damage on major arterials.
“Until they fix all these potholes I would just take it slow and be aware of where you’re going and what’s ahead of you,” Talento suggests.
Meanwhile, work to fix the problematic pothole on the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge has begun, but it is expected to continue for days, even stretching into next week.
