THUNDER BAY — The city's roads manager is keeping his fingers crossed that weather conditions this season are less favourable for the formation of potholes.
Motorists have been dodging cavities in the pavement since the beginning of January.
This happens every year, but Ian Spoljarich said Tuesday that the scope of the problem is affected by weather patterns.
"The spring-like temperatures we've been seeing the last week, and earlier on in January as well, [are] creating a lot of snow-melting, and water on the roads, freezing overnight and causing potholes the next day."
At this point, Spoljarich said, it's difficult to predict if pavement deterioration this season will be as extensive as last spring.
"Last year with the amount of snow that we had, and the warmer temperatures and the rain we got in the spring, it was really hard on the roads. So I'm hoping not as bad as last year, but it's still yet to be seen. We'll have to see what we get for snow in the next month or two, and rain."
Spojarich believes that at this point, city streets are still in relatively better condition than they were a year ago.
He said the roads division encourages motorists to call the dispatch line — (807) 625-2195 — to report any potholes, so that an inspection can be done and a repair crew assigned if required.
Alternatively, a report can be submitted online.
Crews are currently applying cold mix asphalt to potholes by hand or with the Python 5000 machine that uses air pressure to remove debris from a pothole before dispensing fresh asphalt and flattening it with a roller.
