Potholes are back for another season, and the damage they cause could cost you

Oliver Pearson · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 31, 2025 6:21 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

On the evening of March 27, Jeffrey Balcombe was connected Sainte Anne's Point Drive successful Fredericton, driving under the Westmorland Street Bridge, erstwhile helium deed a pothole.

"As I switched lanes conscionable underneath the overpass there, I deed a large bump and I was conscionable hoping that thing large was broken," said Balcombe.

He was capable to thrust location crossed the span to the city's northbound side, each the portion wondering what helium would find erstwhile helium could get home and inspect the damage.  

"I kept driving, noticed a fewer small bumps, got home, saw the tyre was flat, went to the state presumption to capable it up and past that's erstwhile I noticed the dent."

In summation to the level tire, the instrumentality itself was damaged, which cost Balcombe $113 to repair.

"With spot tax, the powerfulness measure going up, the state measure going up — it's not an disbursal I privation to person close now," helium said.

Balcombe, who is from Ontario but has lived in Fredericton for much than two years, said this wintertime has been the worst for potholes, but past helium finds roadworthy conditions generally "lacklustre astatine best."

"It seems similar they're moving successful the aforesaid spots each twelvemonth and they ne'er really hole it."

WATCH | A single pothole flattened his tyre and bent the rim:

He said that his regular way to work takes him toward Maugerville on Route 105, which is simply a provincial road.

"This greeting driving, I was reasoning I'd alternatively beryllium driving connected a ungraded roadworthy than immoderate of the sections, particularly conscionable past the Princess Margaret Bridge," helium said. "That roadworthy is terrible."

He's not unsocial successful his vexation astir roadworthy conditions. 

Camden Sutherland, a work advisor astatine S/S Tire and Auto Service successful downtown Fredericton, has worked there for much than a decennary and says the store does repairs regular connected pothole-damaged cars.

"We're looking astatine determination astir 600 incidents" a twelvemonth from pothole damage, said Sutherland.

He said during highest pothole play the garage could spot up to 10 vehicles a day.

Repairs tin beryllium arsenic elemental arsenic an inexpensive tire patch, oregon the much costly hole of a full caller tire, but immoderate harm tin tally overmuch higher.

"You're looking astatine worldly similar front-end suspension components," Sutherland said. "It tin [cost] thousands of dollars." 

Cause and effect

Potholes hap aft cycles of freezing and thawing, said Mike Walker, the adjunct manager of engineering and operations for the City of Fredericton.

"When immoderate h2o gets wrong immoderate crack, immoderate hole, immoderate susceptible soils underneath — when it freezes, expands — weakens it adjacent more.

"As soon arsenic postulation starts hitting that, those weakened soils weaken asphalt and extremity up breaking up."

Walker said that with the current climate, those freeze/thaw cycles tin hap daily. 

In the winter, there is not overmuch that tin be done to decently repair the holes, helium said. The metropolis uses cold-patch asphalt for a impermanent fix, but Walker said hot asphalt, which they tin lone get successful the summertime months, is the champion solution.

Balcombe would similar to spot the metropolis and the state get pothole repairs "right the archetypal time."

Walker said the lone mode "to bash it right" would beryllium to "rebuild the full road."

That is clip consuming so, alternatively the metropolis focuses connected patching holes arsenic they appear.

They look for holes that person reached the "granular material" beneath the asphalt to hole first. Walker said that erstwhile the apical furniture of asphalt is "peeled off," the metropolis is not looking to hole those but, they volition if they can.

The metropolis doesn't look aft the agelong of roadworthy wherever Balcombe's car was damaged, it's nether provincial jurisdiction.

For provincial roads, the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure said, "Any repairs made earlier May are typically lone impermanent patches, utilizing lighter worldly than the asphalt employed during warmer months."

Both the City of Fredericton and the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure person a telephone enactment for motorists to study issues.

The city's website says radical tin study potholes by calling 506-460-2020 "or by submitting concerns via societal media." The Government of New Brunswick says to contact thw "Transportation Information Centre astatine 1-833-384-4111 oregon email [email protected]."

The metropolis said, successful an emailed statement, that they "have received reports of potholes this outpouring but are not seeing an summation successful calls compared to erstwhile years."