The growing number of potholes on Montreal’s roads could be avoided if the city put more money into years of road maintenance delays, says a professor who specializes in the study of bituminous materials.
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Nearly 110,000 potholes will need repairing in the city this year, confirmed Karla Duval, Montreal City Public Relations Officer. Around 96,800 holes in the road were sealed last year.
However, the city of Montreal increases its road maintenance budget year after year. In 2023, for example, an amount of 3.5 million US dollars is planned to seal the potholes, ie 700,000 US dollars more than in 2022.
“The city of Montreal has already made significant efforts to maintain sidewalks,” confirmed Alan Carter, professor in the civil engineering department at the École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS). But we are so late in resuming that budgets should be much bigger.
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The recipe for not having potholes is no secret. “We need to take better care of our sidewalks than we have in the past,” concluded Mr. Carter.
To do this, the roads would have to be repaired at the slightest sign of cracks. However, it is rare that the repair is carried out immediately for financial and practical reasons.
“If we see cracks appearing on the road surface, we will wait until volumes are affordable to call someone to seal everything,” explains the professor.
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Also, according to Carter, the city cannot afford to close an entire street to renew the entire pavement.
“Traffic is less annoyed when potholes are repaired with automated trucks,” he said. One of these devices could also seal 300 potholes in a day, Ms Duval said.
By February 22, 44,000 potholes had already been repaired on the streets of the metropolis. A fourth operation is scheduled to begin on Wednesday.
The formation of a pothole means “the pavement is dying”, illustrated Professor Alan Carter.
A hole in the road can occur because another deterioration occurred first, whether it’s a rut, a crack, or a poorly executed repair.
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During frost, the water that has fallen on the road remains trapped and turns to ice.
“The volume of water then increases and the road surface cannot withstand the force generated,” says Carter.