If you’ve noticed more potholes, you’re not wrong.
Stephen Bryans, roadways operations supervisor for the City of Kelowna, said the freeze and thaw pattern this winter has been intense and there are more potholes than he’s seen in years past.
In February 2017, he said, the city went about filling a total of 336 potholes. In the first week of February this year, they’ve already doubled that figure, which puts them well on the path to topping last year’s total figure of 2,000 potholes filled.
Luckily, they can get to it pretty quickly.
“We’re pretty fortunate with the City of Kelowna, we have two ashphalt recyclers,” said Bryans. “They take old asphalt, we recycle it and we heat it back up and we repair the potholes.”
There are also new filler products on the market that they’re working with, as the city is always looking at innovative ways to address ongoing problems.
Ultimately, however, the focus right now is getting the potholes filled as soon as possible.
“Right now we have three crews going 16 hours a day,” he said, adding that it can take from minutes to half an hour to get the job done.
While the City of Kelowna is working hard to get the potholes under control, Stephens pointed out that they are not responsible for Harvey Avenue, as that falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Transportation.
Residents can help to identify potholes along roadways by using the Online Service Request System at kelowna.ca/servicerequests.
Potholes form on asphalt road surfaces due to seasonal freezing and thawing. The changing weather from season to season leads to the formation of potholes, which is why they tend to be more prominent in the winter and spring when the weather fluctuates.
Residents who wish to report potholes or other issues on provincially owned highways (Highway 97 and 33), can visit drivebc.ca and select the “Report a Highway Problem” option on the left-hand side.
For more information on the City’s roadway maintenance, visit kelowna.ca/transportation.