Here come the potholes

Photo: Deborah Pfeiffer

A pothole from winter 2017 in Penticton.

Fingers are crossed that winter is winding down in Penticton, and that means the city is getting ready to clean up what the snow has left behind — namely, lots and lots of potholes.

The freezing and thawing cycles of winter put stress on roads. Moisture seeps into pavement and expands and contracts as temperatures fluctuated, eventually weakening the pavement enough to have it crumble and pop out without notice.

"While potholes are one of our road maintenance polices, they are difficult to control. The city makes every effort to fix a pothole as soon as we are made aware of it," said public works manager Len Robson.

According to a city news release, crews will prioritize fixes by road usage. High-traffic thoroughfares will receive fixes first, with residential and side streets to follow.

Throughout the winter, the city fixes potholes with cold-mix asphalt as a temporary solution until they can be filled with hot-mix asphalt in the spring. As the spring fixing season gets underway, the city will seek the public's help in keeping track of potholes that need addressing.

"We appreciate receiving notifications of potholes, or any other road problem, and ask the traveling public to let us know of any road issues they observe," Robson said. 

Pothole reports can be made at 250-490-2500 or [email protected].