By Jeff Labine

Pothole season arrives early

Feb 21, 2017 | 11:00 AM

Pothole season has arrived early this year for Prince Albert.

City crews are expected to head out this week to start patching up roads and streets, as the changing weather has caused a number of potholes to pop up all over the city.

Potholes are caused when moisture in pavement freezes and expands. The problem is worsened when vehicles drive over them.

Mayor Greg Dionne said this is the earliest crews have started their annual pothole-repair duties.

“It’s this crazy weather and the potholes are starting to show up,” Dionne said. “We encourage anyone who runs into potholes to call our number at (306) 953-4900 and report them so we can get them on the list and repaired.”

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Dionne said the City repairs 1,000 to 2,500 potholes per year. The number and severity usually depends on the weather. Prince Albert has been experiencing fluctuating weather this month, with temperatures routinely going into the positives.

High-traffic areas are usually repaired first, Dionne said, followed by school zones, bus routes, Central Avenue and the business district. Residential areas are often completed last.

Dionne said the City is just starting to dip into the pothole repair budget for 2017, but will continue to monitor their funds throughout the year.

While the repairs are only meant as a temporary fix, Dionne said the long-term solution would be to repave, but that would only be done if a roadway was severely potholed.

“[Last year] we had 28th St. break up something terrible with potholes everywhere,” Dionne said, “so what we did was shave the whole street down and put a re-cap on it as part of our $4 million rehabilitation program.”

Jeff.Labine@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @labinereporter