Quebec road's potholes so big some kids use them to swim

Route 342 in Pointe-Fortune, Quebec is a bit of a local joke.

"It's pretty bad," laughed Pascale Montesano, who lives along what could be one of the worst stretches of road in the province.

Montesano has been living here for eight years and says the road has been virtually undrivable ever since.

Fed up with seeing accidents and flat tires, last week, she and a few neighbours placed flower pots and orange cones in some of the biggest holes.

"You could see the holes, at least," she said. "You know, so it was a bit less dangerous."

The half-kilometre stretch just before the Ontario border has hundreds of potholes, some six inches deep, and cars are forced to zig-zag through them.

Seasoned locals tend to abandon the roadway altogether and drive on the shoulder.

"Because I come here every day, I have my own little trail," said Andrea St-Pierre, who works at the dog shelter Animatch, on Route 342. "We use the shoulder to avoid the holes, but in some sections, the shoulder is torn up too."

St-Pierre has been witness to more than a few crashes, including a motorcyclist and his passenger who were thrown off his bike after hitting a deep pothole two years ago.

The sound of tires popping doesn't even startle Montesano anymore.

"They were smashing tires, and with the rain and everything, you don't see the holes, so if it's raining, you think it's just a small hole, but it goes really deep," she said.

So deep that some of the local kids even used the biggest pothole as a swimming pool.

Pointe-Fortune Mayor Francois Belanger refused CTV News's request for an interview but, in a phone call, said the town cannot afford to repave the road on its own.

Pointe-Fortune has requested financial assistance from the province.

In the meantime, municipal workers filled some of the biggest holes with gravel, a temporary fix, while they wait for funding from Transport Quebec.

Workers have filled some of the worst potholes on Route 342 with gravel as a temporary fix. (Matt Gilmour/CTV News)

But, locals believe there is a simple solution.

"I think they should just take off everything and leave it on rocks," Montesano said.

"Having a gravel road is better than having a minefield," St-Pierre added.