Up to 50 work crews will be patrolling the city for potholes on Monday amid a January thaw that has seen cracks develop along many Toronto streets and alleys.
According to Manager of Road Operations Hector Moreno, the crews will begin work in the morning and will remain on duty through the end of the week.
The blitz is being held in the wake of a rapid rise in temperatures that has created ideal conditions for pothole formation.
“The frigid temperatures and the recent thaw we are experiencing right now has put a lot of stress on our roadways, so we will have between 40-50 crews out as of tomorrow morning hitting all of our expressways, mains, collectors and local streets and fixing the potholes,” Moreno told CP24 Sunday morning. “That should go right through the end of the week.”
City crews have already repaired about 4,000 potholes so far this year, compared to about 1,500 at this point last season.
Residents can report potholes in their neighbourhood by calling 311 or by following this link.
“We do have crews out day-in and day-out, but we also rely heavily on the assistance of the general public,” Moreno said.
Reduced risk of flooding
After weeks of bone-chilling temperatures, the mercury rose to 9 C on Saturday and is expected to hit 2 C today and 5 C on Monday.
The mild conditions prompted the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority to issue a flood watch Friday afternoon, however a spokesperson for the organization told CP24 that the risk of flooding has now mostly subsided.
“We didn’t get as much rain and snow melt as we thought we would, so the risk of river flooding has more or less passed,” Ryan Ness said Sunday morning. “What still remains is melting snow and ice on properties and on roads that may not be able to flow into catch basins and into the drainage system and that can cause nuisance flooding.”
Residents are being advised to remove snow and ice from catch basins on their property in order to reduce the risk of flooding.
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