In a part of the planet notorious for weather conditions that don’t necessarily lend themselves to road condition longevity, there’s a certain expectation in local drivers that their A to B commute will come with a handful of imperfections in the asphalt along the way at any given time of the year.
If online venting and memeing are any indicator, a series of potholes on the city’s busy 18th street have in recent weeks been bringing new meaning to the thought of a few bumps in the road.
While the odd brave soul takes potholes like those pictured in front of Brandon University head-on, it’s more common to see last minute swerves or even a merge of vehicles into the more in-tact lane at the expense of traffic flow.
A fact not necessarily known to all is that streets within Brandon can potentially fall under the responsibility of the City or the Province, with 18th Street counting as the latter along with 1st Street, Victoria Ave west of 1st and Richmond Ave east of 18th.
In response to an inquiry on pothole maintenance and specifically 18th street, a spokesperson for the Province shared this week that the Spring thaw and now recent heavy rains have worsened the pothole situation on 18th and other Provincial roads in the city. Potholes are being patched as they emerge and will continue to be.
Manitoba Infrastructure re-paved 18th street in 2007. Most notably in the city this Spring and Summer, crews have been putting the finishing touches on work associated with the 1st Street bridge replacement project.
Potholes and unsafe conditions on Provincial roads can be reported by calling 1-866-MANITOBA (1-866-626-4862).
On the City of Brandon side of the ledger, the City maintains a section of its online corporate scorecard to update on the status of its own pothole efforts... going as far as giving an estimated number of fills by month. That data through April showed 1552 as the number of potholes patched, off of a year-to-date target of 3400 up to that point.
2019 saw almost exactly half as many potholes filled than the previous year, said to be a reflection of reduced need because of past fill efforts and street resurfacings. A goal is in place to fill 12,400 in 2020, a reduction from recent years’ goals of 18,000... not that you’ll find many making the case for 2020 as a typical year.
The city’s pothole count is arrived at by taking the weight of fill used and dividing by 40, going on the assumption that 40 pounds is the average fill weight.
The city reports having re-paved 1719 square metres of street in June, with much work ahead to meet a goal of 100,000 before the year is out.
You can view the City’s corporate scorecard at http://opengov.brandon.ca/scorecard.php
Residents can report problem potholes on city streets to the City of Brandon’s Streets and Roads Section at 204-729-2200 or through the online form at https://www.brandon.ca/report-an-issue