City road crews tackle late-winter pothole repairs

As winter gradually fades, road damage caused by repeated freeze-thaw cycles is becoming apparent in Thunder Bay. Municipal road maintenance crews are intensively carrying out pothole repair tasks to ensure the safety of residents' travel.

According to Ryan Love, the city's interim road management supervisor, the current pothole situation is generally manageable. "So far, the pothole problem is not serious," he said, noting that the number of complaints from residents is low and the issue is within a controllable range. However, in some high-frequency damaged areas, repair work still requires daily dispatch to ensure timely improvement of road conditions.

To improve work efficiency, the maintenance crew has put into use a self-propelled pothole patching machine called the "Python 5000." This equipment can use cold-mix or hot-mix asphalt for quick repairs, and its built-in heating box maintains good working condition even in low temperatures, allowing a single operator to achieve the same repair efficiency that previously required a three-person team.

Love emphasized that temperature changes in the coming days will directly affect the severity of the pothole problem. Ideally, snowmelt should occur slowly to reduce further damage to the roads; however, if there are several consecutive days of warming weather around 15°C, road conditions may become more severe. To this end, the municipal department has also taken various preventive measures, including steam treatment of storm drains and culverts, and using bulldozers to clear snow from curbs, to ensure smooth drainage of road surface water.

Thunder Bay residents who discover potholes on the roads can report them online through the city's official website, and the relevant departments will respond and handle them promptly.

Source:  https://www.tbnewswatch.com/local-news/city-road-crews-aim-to-keep-up-with-pothole-repairs-10364376