Potholes appear on Winnipeg streets as snow melts

Winnipeg city crews are scrambling to patch plenty of potholes that have reappeared recently, as an early spell of spring weather melted much of this winter's snowfall.

The City of Winnipeg says staff fielded 86 complaints about potholes on Friday alone, and officials believe the calls will keep rolling in this week.

For example, five large craters were counted on just one block of Empress Street.

"It's terrible, yeah. Coming to work this morning, it was just brutal," one woman told CBC News on Monday.

"Just awful. I've actually complained to the city about this stretch," said another motorist.

City crews have been tackling potholes since mid-February, but this past weekend they increased their multi-person road-patching crews from three to five.

Six patching machines, which can each fix 25 to 50 potholes a day, can also be used.

"It's pretty harsh conditions that we're trying to patch in, and we may have to return to some of the potholes several times to keep these streets safe," said Ken Boyd, manager of the city's streets maintenance division.

Crews are focusing on main routes, bus routes and streets that collect water, Boyd said.

Motorists are asked to call 311 to report any potholes they find. As well, drivers should also slow down for the crews who are fixing them, Boyd said.

Meanwhile, CAA Manitoba is launching a contest seeking people's nominations for the province's 10 worst roads.

"It's not something that I think we should accept," said CAA spokesperson Liz Peters. "The fact that the roads are in this condition is something that the province and the city and federal government need to make a top priority."

Peters said the list will go to the city, the provincial and federal governments.