Pothole season makes early return to P.E.I.

It's an annual rite of spring on P.E.I., but this year's pothole season is earlier than ever, making for a rough ride on some Charlottetown streets.

Heaving pavement and cracked asphalt can happen when warmer temperatures like the ones the Island has experienced the past few weeks cause moisture underground to expand.

"We have people on board in wheelchairs most of the time and they get thrown around pretty good so we have to watch our speed," said Ron Turner, who transports Islanders with disabilities with Pat and the Elephant.

Turner avoids some sections of streets, and said he is extra-vigilant about looking for potholes and heaves in the pavement.

"Any potholes that have been occurring, we've been trying to fill those as quickly as we can," said CharlottetownPublic Works manager Paul Johnston.

Potholes don't seem to be worse this year than others although some streets that were torn up for new sewer and water pipes may be more susceptible to heaving, he added.

"It happens with the soils and the conditions we have here and it will happen to varying degrees every year and in varying locations," said Johnston.

Streets 'pretty bad'

Whether or not the situation is worse than before, drivers characterize the situation as poor.

"I would say they're pretty bad, a lot of potholes all over town, even on the more important roads," said driver Shalynn Buss.

"It's really bad for cars and I've heard a lot of complaints about it lately to be honest."

Going around trouble spots is Emily Mangos' solution.

"You have to swerve a lot, like swerve into the other lane," said Mangos.

Officials haven't received many complaints about pavement conditions.Winter's not officiallyover for about a month, so they say it's hard to know what road conditions will be like in the coming weeks.

"Are we in a little bit of a pre-pothole season at the moment and we're going to get a lot of snow and pothole season will come later, or has winter passed us by?" asked Johnston.

Temperatures will need to be consistently warmer before the bumps flatten out, Johnston said.