ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Mechanic Ed Hearn has never seen anything quite like the aluminum rim that split apart after a Volvo SUV hit a pothole in St. John's, N.L., this week.
It's an especially brutal example of the damage this time of year brings to rims and tires across much of Canada. But the temperature swings in Newfoundland and Labrador are blamed for an even more extreme toll on roads.
"I've been living here all my life and every year it's the same thing: pothole, pothole, pothole," Hearn said during a busy day at the Morris Service Station.
"They could try to find better asphalt, I suppose — if there is such a thing."
His co-worker, Wayne Dinn, agreed as he held up the ravaged Volvo rim with a shake of his head.
Social media in the city also lit up Tuesday night when several vehicles hit a deep gouge in a pockmarked stretch of local highway named for curling champion Brad Gushue.
Construction on the Team Gushue Highway began in St. John's after the Gushue rink won gold at the Torino Winter Olympics in 2006. It is still incomplete after repeated delays and there's growing concern about the state of the finished section.
"It's a disaster," said George Murphy, a former NDP provincial member who drives Team Gushue Highway several times a day. He was on the road northbound about 7 p.m. Tuesday night. It was getting dark and rain was filling the potholes as a driver in the oncoming southbound lane almost lost control, he said.
"In front of me, I see a car that fish-tails. He's coming towards me so I bring my car to almost a stop.
"This guy was after hitting this monstrous pothole. It's a good thing he wasn't in my lane because I had just dodged several."
Murphy said three other vehicles stopped along the side of the road were the first of several more that would hit the same pothole after darkness fell.
The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary confirmed police responded to the scene, but no injuries were reported.
"It's an accident waiting to happen," Murphy said. He said the thickness and quality of asphalt used to pave the relatively new road may be one factor. But he also blames a lack of maintenance.
"The pavement is degraded to the point now in both lanes that I figure they should just close the highway and not use it at all until it's properly fixed — it's that much of a danger."
An emailed statement from the provincial Transportation and Works Department said spring freeze-and-thaw cycles make potholes a major challenge, as they are in other parts of Canada.
"Crews work daily to mark and repair potholes as quickly as possible after they appear," it said. "The department is always looking for better and more innovative ways to address potholes."
The province is taking part in a project led by the Transportation Association of Canada to improve repairs and reduce incidents.
Work on the Team Gushue Highway was set for Wednesday afternoon and evening, the statement said.
Bernie Vicars owns a garage in St. John's and had a visit from one of the drivers who hit that pothole.
"No different whatsoever," he said of this year's tire carnage. "It's the weather."
But on Twitter and Facebook, many drivers questioned whether the province needs higher quality asphalt — or at least a thicker surface. Others suggested people need to slow down and pay more attention, especially after dark and in the rain.
Vicars has seen pretty much every kind of pothole damage.
"I've seen the front end torn out of a car," he said of an incident a few years back. "Now, the car was a bit rusty. But the pothole never helped it."
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Sue Bailey, The Canadian Press
