Temperature swings mean Montreal gets an early start to pothole season

Montreal got an early start to pothole season this year.

The intense cold followed by mild temperatures – and then more cold – opened a lot of craters throughout the city and beyond.

Those big potholes mean big business for mechanics. At Nelson Garage on Decarie Blvd., they say they haven't seen January potholes this bad in years.

They report fixing several cars a day with tire and wheel damage.

“It's the size of the potholes that’s the problem,” said service manager Kevin Piper.

Most of the time, he said, the tires can't be fixed, so drivers are on the hook to buy brand new ones.

“The problem now with the newer cars is the tires are bigger, they're larger – they’re 18-20 inches – so they've gone up in price $50 to $74 a tire,” he said.

The city is fixing the worst potholes but said it doesn't have the staff to get to all of them because workers are prioritizing snow removal. A second problem is that tar barely sticks in wet weather.

“It's only a Band-Aid. It's going to last minimum of 30 days, but we have to fix the situation. It's a security matter and we want to make sure people can move safely in Montreal,” explained City of Montreal spokesperson Philippe Sabourin.

So what can you do if your car is damaged by a pot hole?

You can make a claim against the city or province, explained CAA, but governments have tightened the rules and now rarely pay out.

“You have to prove that the municipality neglected maintenance of the road so it's not easy. You have to get testimony, you have to get proof,” said CAA-Quebec spokesperson Pierre-Olivier Fortin.

Unfair, says Erik Sharko, who could be looking at spending $300 after he hit a huge pothole on Highway 20 east at the Ville-St-Pierre Interchange.

“To see the whole rim bent in like that, that's a new one for me,” he said. “It bottomed out, the car. I felt the car hit the pavement, like the frame of the car.”

Sharko was left with a flat tire and a bent wheel, among other damage.

“You're on a budget, it's after the holidays, no one has any money in January,” he said. “It's hard.”