Mother nature unleashed a "massive beating" on Windsor roadways the past two winters, but this year city officials expect a reprieve on potholes repairs.
Between $800,000 and $1-million is spent annually on pothole fixes out of the city's $8-million road rehab budget.
"A lot of the roads, which you see a lot of cracking on, allows the water in through the freeze-thaw cycles of the winter and the snow plows going over it and the uneven edge," Executive Director of Operations Dwayne Dawson explains. "It will tend to just pop the chucks of asphalt out, which eventually leads to a pothole."
Fortunately, Dawson says this year's mild winter helped reduce the number of potholes, but that doesn't mean crews aren't busy.
Windsor's roads require $300-million in repairs and with an $8-million annual budget that would take 37.5 years to fully fix, assuming nothing gets worse.
About 20% of the city's roads are listed in "failed condition." This means they require a full reconstruction.
On deteriorating roads, city officials say it's possible for a crew to be out to the same spot two or three times in the same day.
Banwell Rd. is one spot city officials say they hear about often when it comes to potholes. Dawson says it's all about prioritizing.
"We do have to monitor certain roads a little more closely. Obviously a pothole on EC Row needs a little more attention then a pothole on your local side street," he says.
Whether there's a gaping hole or a sizeable crater, it can cause a good chunk of damage to a vehicle.
BlackburnNews.com has obtained city data showing 39 residents filed pothole damage claims last year, with only five of them resulting in a settlement. One claim is still open.
That's down from 2014 when 50 people sought compensation from the city, but only four were successful.
The settlements are confidential, but they say amounts typically fall within the low to mid-hundreds for tire damage. The same is happening in many other parts of Canada as well.
