Montreal's new pothole patching contract includes 30-day guarantee

In anticipation of a difficult spring pothole season, the City of Montreal has included a provision in its new pothole-patching contract that guarantees patches will last at least 30 days.

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Lionel Perez, the executive committee member responsible for infrastructure,told Radio-Canada the city will adopt the contract at the next council meeting on March 21.

"Something very new is the ability to track the pothole-patching vehicles with GPS so we canevaluate the work done by the contractor," Perez said.

"If the patches don't last, we can take advantage of a clause in the contract offering a 30-day guarantee."

Perez said the contract would then have to re-patch the pothole with no additional cost to the city.

He estimated this will lead to a savings of seven per cent over the previous contract and make city streets safer.

Major streets patched first

He said another change this year is the order in whichpotholes are patched.

In the past, boroughs were responsible for deciding which potholes were patched first.

Perez said now the central city will coordinate efforts, and prioritise major arteries.

He also said crews will execute patching blitzes on weekends when streets aren't as busy.

Perez admittedeven with the improvements, patching amounts to what he called "palliative care" for city streets.

He saidthe real solution is investing in repaving road surfaces, but that will take time.