In a rut on the road? You’re not the only driver in pothole peril
This winter’s been one of the worst, says Hamilton Cab CEO
Yes, Hamilton, you’re right: It’s rough out there.
This winter’s manic freeze-thaw cycle and generous rainfall has made for a particularly severe pothole season so far.
Drivers have to be especially careful to dodge the craters on main drags. Ask the CEO of Hamilton Cab. “This year, it has been one of the worst ones,” Jagtar Singh Chahal said Wednesday.
Singh Chahal acknowledges extreme weather has been a factor, but says the potholes are damaging brand-new cars in his fleet.
“So I give the benefit of the doubt to the city. We hope they repair these potholes as soon as possible.” It’s on the radar. “We have crews that have been deploying basically 24/7,” said Tammy Blackburn, senior project manager of roads and traffic in the city’s public works department.
The usual suspects — Burlington and Barton streets — are problematic, but Main Street West is also in drivers’ bad books this year.
“We have crews out there even today and they’re patching some of the potholes,” Blackburn said.
The see-sawing temperature and rain has led to more potholes than usual, she said, noting water gets into fissures, expands and opens gaps in the asphalt.
Public works has dedicated pothole patrollers whose job is to pin trouble spots on an electronic
map for repair crews.
How quickly they respond depends on a road’s priority, Blackburn said.
Potholes that are at least eight centimetres deep must be filled within four days on a Class 1 road, such as the Red Hill Valley Parkway, and Class 2, Main Street West. A Class 5, a residential street like London Street South, requires repairs within 30 days.
Crews are using two patch-up methods.
One involves a “hotbox” that uses leftover asphalt from summer mixed with additives to allow it to be heated and compacted as it’s applied.
The second is the “cold patch,” which doesn’t require heating to fill holes.
This is considered a temporary, quick fix amid the high workload.
Major resurfacing of Main Street West isn’t scheduled to happen until construction begins on Hamilton’s expected light rail transit line next year, Blackburn noted.
“They’re just trying to co-ordinate their efforts so they’re not basically putting wasted money to temporarily do some repairs on the road.”
The east-west LRT is expected to have 17 stops along Main Street and King Street, running from McMaster University to Eastgate Square.
Major construction on the $1-billion provincially funded project is scheduled for 2019 to 2024.
So far this year, the city has received 26 claims for pothole-related damage.
In 2017, there were 105 claims, 78 in 2016 and 197 in 2015.
CRS Automotive on King Street East hasn’t yet seen a significant spike in rim and suspension business due to rutted roads.
“This past month and a half, I’ve had two pothole incidents,” service manager Jeremy Paeire said.
But that could change. The temperature is forecast to rise to a high of 6 C Saturday (read more thaw after the freeze) while precipitation is also in the cards.
Rutted roads are also hard on city bus drivers.
“You get the washboard effect,” said Eric Tuck, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 107, which represents HSR drivers.
Tuck said he was off work for two days nursing a sore neck after his bus hit a sunken sewer grate by a stop at Lakeshore and Brant in Burlington.
“This is something we raised actually as one of the main contributors of lost time.”
Tuck said the union has asked for a more direct way for HSR dispatchers to report potholes to public works crews.
“We drive these roads probably more than anybody.”