As snow recedes, potholes become Vancouver's new traffic challenge

The snow is gone but the traffic problems aren't.

The people who maintain Metro Vancouver's roads say there are about 50 per cent more potholes this year than last.

"Withthe freeze thawing, itjust flexes that surface and pops off the asphalt in larger chunks," saidDarren Ell with Mainroad Lower Mainland, which is charge of road maintenance for much of the Lower Mainland.

Potholes form when waterpenetrates the asphalt surface of the road. When temperatures drop, the water freezes and expands, causing cracks.

How do potholes form?

8 years ago

Duration 0:30

The quick transition from freezing temperatures to rain is causing plenty of potholes in Metro Vancouver. Anita Bathe explains why.

It's meant that commuters have begun seeing more and more potholes in recent days as Vancouver's deep freeze gets replaced by deep puddles. Because of the city's typical climate, a long-term fix may be a while in coming.

"Typically for a long-term patch you need dry conditions. It's there's any moisture on the road, the material doesn'ttend to stick as well. When we're out there in the rain, a lot of times we are just doing a temporary patch, and waiting for the ideal conditions where we can do a more permanent fix," said Ell.

Ell said the worst areas they maintain include Oak Street, Knight Street and north and south of the Massey Tunnel but asked for the public's patience if they notice more potholes than normal in the weeks ahead.

"Now that themoisture is thawing out, it's moving that asphalt out and showing the weakness of the infrastructure. It's the end effect of this cold spell," he said.

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"Please be patient ... we're finding the potholes ourselves and fixing them as fast as we can."

In a statement, the province acknowledged the issue wouldn't be significantly improving in the short-term.

"Mainroad has confirmed they will be out theretonightfixing the potholes on the Oak Street Bridge, but they caution that once potholes are fixed other potholes often form, making this an ongoing process," it wrote.

ICBC says that while potholes can be a hazard particularlyin the winter, people must purchaseoptional collision coverage in order to file a claim related to pothole damage.