With warm weather around the corner, pothole season is upon Grande Prairie. Transportation Services Manager Robert Carroll expects next week to be problematic for roads in the city, with temperatures fluctuating above and below freezing.
“Which is nice for melting snow but it has the opposite effect on road surfaces because that’s when we get the formation of potholes which that freeze thawing overnight overnight and daytime.”
Carroll says crews have been trying to keep on top of the road craters throughout the long and cold winter, and are ready to tackle the next ones to pop up.
“There’s some areas that we’ve had to attend to through the winter thus far, and we know where they are so we’ll do patrols on the known areas and make sure that they’re still holding. When the new ones come up, we hope that our crews will pick them up or citizens will inform us of where they are.”
Potholes on city maintained streets can be reported either through the Citizen Contact Centre at 780-538-0300 on online through SeeClickFix. Ones on the Highway 43 bypass or other provincially maintained roads will have to be reported to Alberta’s Ministry of Transportation.
At this point in the year, the City is still using a cold mix to fill potholes, as the hot mix asphalt generally isn’t ready until May. The hot mix typically last longer than the cold one, which is considered a temporary measure.
“When we get the hot mix, we don’t go out and stick it in the hole; we properly prepare the hole and put some… glue that helps the hot mix adhere to the edges of the pothole so you get a better, more permanent repair.”
At the same time, snow removal crews are still clearing up from what Carroll is calling a record winter for snow hauling. He notes that at this time last year the city was already doing spring cleaning, but it will likely be two to three weeks before the street sweepers get to work.