Wayne Finch says a rut damaged the axle on his vehicle during his drive to the library last week. (submitted photo/Wayne Finch)

By Ronald Quaroni

Road Damage

P.A. motorists claims he was left stranded due to ruts

Feb 10, 2020 | 12:00 PM

The term, ‘bump in the road,’ has a new meaning for a Prince Albert man.

Last Wednesday, Wayne Finch drove his 2000 Ford Focus to the John M. Culenaere Public Library. He said on the drive, he pulled into the drop off lane and went through some ruts. Finch straightened his wheels and that’s when he said he heard a ‘pop.’

“I thought maybe I hit some ice or something. I thought, ‘OK I’ll just put it into reverse and try to move’ and it wouldn’t move,” Finch told paNOW.

Once out of his vehicle, Finch noted significant damage to the front of his vehicle.

“I saw that the ball joint had popped off and the axle had came out, but thankfully I wasn’t on the highway because that would have been a disaster,” he said.

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When assessed, Finch noted, the early estimates to repair the damage was at least $800.

At the time of incident, Finch claims he wasn’t travelling more than 10 to 20 km/h. He said he believes the rut caused the damage to his car.

“I was on the highway the day before, and everything was absolutely fine. It couldn’t have been coincidence,” he said.

Finch had the car towed to his house and a friend recommended he file a claim with the city. He said the city appears willing to discuss the situation.

Roadway’s Manager Brent Kennedy explained when claims comes to city hall they follow the City Act.

“When someone reports an issue to the city, we go and investigate to see the situation. We have to be aware of a situation — someone has to identify an issue before we can address it,” Kennedy noted.

Despite some unfavourable road conditions after a warm weather trend in January, Kennedy said the city received only one claim this winter.

The city conducted a downtown snowlift Sunday evening into Monday morning to remove excess snow and ice in Prince Albert’s downtown.

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ron.quaroni@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @RonaldQuaroni