From minor cracks to full-size divots, potholes seem to be popping up all over Greater Victoria.
“There are quite a few more potholes, I hit one quite hard the other day,” said driver Sheilah Frost.
“You feel your car thud, the kids are bouncing in the back seat. I’ve already had one flat tire this season, so ya, it’s pretty frustrating!” said Sara Gallo.
And if you too are noticing your morning commute is a whole lot bumpier than usual, you’re not going crazy, this year has been exceptionally bad for potholes.
“It’s been quite heavy, potholes all over the place,” said Andrew Gatez, quality assurance manager for EMCON Services South Island division.
“We’ve experienced temperatures downwards of -8, -10, which creates water to freeze then expand and then wreaks havoc on the road base.”
From snowstorms, and plows, to heavy rains, and even king tides, this year, the pavement is taking a pounding.
And with more rain in the forecast, new potholes are likely to pop up.
“We will still see storms, slamming coast,” said Armel Castellan, warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada.
“They’re just not big ones, they’re not going to deliver 500 millimetres as we have seen over the last four and five days on the outside coast, but they will bring some wetness.”
And both municipalities and highway services say, if you bounce over a pothole, don’t just keep driving. Call it in, before it gets worse
“They just increase in size. More water gets in as the hole gets bigger, and it just wrecks people’s tires,” said Gatez.
Kori Sidaway
