Here's why potholes in Toronto might be especially bad right now

After a series of freeze and thaw weather events pesky potholes are re-emerging on roads across Toronto.

"It's absolutely the best recipe for potholes, the rain and the snow and then we have plus five and minus ten the next day, it's just the perfect storm for pothole season," said Mark Mills a road operations manager with the City of Toronto.

Driver's along Lawrence Avenue East in Scarborough describing the drive as "rough" and "bumpy" with some potholes narrowly impossible to avoid.

"Warden south of Lawrence is brutal and it's the same every year. My son-in-law actually had to replace a rim," one driver told CTV News Toronto. 

Tow truck driver Fatih Akkurt said a majority of his tows now are pothole related. 

"I've towed a lot of cars that got flat tires, sometimes the rim cracks," he said. 

Work is well underway to fix the problematic potholes, with approximately 25 crews spread out across the city fixing potholes with a hot-mixed asphalt, which is supposed to be a permanent fix. 

So far city crews have repaired 10,775 potholes in 2022. That's down from the same time in 2021 when the 20,236 potholes were filled. 

"We've seen more snow this year, so the staff that are out maintaining the roads for snow are also the staff fixing the roads for potholes so we don't typically fix potholes when we have snow events unless its an emergency," said Mills who added traffic volumes continue to increase close to pre-pandemic levels. "Traffic volumes are back to 85 to 90 per cent what they were before the pandemic so we're now going to see more potholes as a result."

The city says that it has set aside $4 million to $5 million to repair potholes in 2022 with each pothole costing about $25 to repair.

Mills said the city is planning for its annual pothole repair blitz for either early to mid March. 

People can report potholes by calling 311, emailing [e-mail] or using the 311 app available online. 

The city says potholes will be repaired within four days of being reported, but repairs are prioritized on major roads first.