Potholes are costing Canadians billions. But there are some solutions

Philip Drost · CBC Radio

· Posted: Jun 07, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 6 minutes ago

Dylan Langille is precise acquainted with the swerves it takes to dodge the potholes of Halifax. 

"I could astir apt adjacent my eyes connected my commute backmost to my house, and I could debar the pothole due to the fact that they've been determination for truthful long," Langille told the Cost of Living. 

"What are you expected to bash erstwhile determination are potholes each 10 feet here."

Langille, 30, is simply a vigor announcer and contented creator. He's milked the pothole hatred connected his TikTok account, including attempting to food and play utilizing section potholes. 

"Just similar putting connected existent green, I came up short," helium said. 

Langille is 1 of galore Canadian drivers who person to woody with potholes connected a regular basis. It has municipalities spending millions connected maintenance, and drivers making predominant trips to the mechanic.

But determination are immoderate caller solutions emerging to this aged and increasing occupation — from utilizing artificial quality to show for the holes, to changing the roadworthy aboveground itself.

How the holes form

The main culprit for each the potholes successful Canada is each the freezing and thawing roads spell through, says Nemy Banthia, a prof of civilian engineering astatine the University of British Columbia successful Vancouver. 

Moisture from rainfall and melting snowfall seeps nether the roadworthy and freezes. That causes the crushed to expand. When it gets warmer during the day, the crushed shrinks backmost down, leaving a bulge successful the road. Then, erstwhile radical thrust implicit it, it cracks. 

"As the wheels spell implicit it, they volition instrumentality immoderate of this breached disconnected worldly and a pothole is formed, close determination and there," said Banthia.

WATCH | What does the upwind person to bash with however atrocious potholes volition be? 

And it's getting worse, for a fig of reasons. Banthia says that clime alteration has contributed to much of these accelerated frost and thaw cycles, and brought much aggravated rain. 

Plus, determination are about a cardinal much registered vehicles successful Canada present than six years ago.

"And we person not kept up connected the innovation broadside to negociate our pavements," said Banthia.

What it costs

The economical interaction of potholes is being felt crossed the country. According to a 2021 study published by the Canadian Automobile Association, Canadian drivers incur other costs of $126 annually per conveyance due to the fact that of mediocre roadworthy quality, which totals to $3 cardinal for Canadian drivers each year.

That includes conveyance repairs, higher maintenance, and different operating expenses, the survey says.

And municipalities are paying large bucks, too.

In Edmonton, the metropolis spent $5.9 cardinal connected pothole repair backmost successful 2015. That fund is up to $11 cardinal this year, which is the highest of immoderate large metropolis successful Canada. 

In 2024, crews repaired a full of 537,305 potholes. They've fixed 91,020 truthful acold this year.

"I wouldn't accidental that Edmonton is the pothole superior of Canada, but I deliberation we astir apt are the pothole filling superior of Canada," said metropolis councillor Andrew Knack. 

In Saskatoon, metropolis crews repaired implicit 50,000 potholes successful 2024, according to the City of Saskatoon's Roadways Department. That's 52 per cent much than the erstwhile year. 

But the accrued outgo isn't conscionable due to the fact that determination are much potholes. Materials and labour besides outgo more. 

And Matthew Fair says it's thing that needs to beryllium dealt with, and not conscionable due to the fact that it tin travel with a large bill. He is the caput of attraction operations successful Durham, Ont., which means it's his occupation to marque definite the potholes get fixed. 

"If you deed a ample capable pothole, it's nationalist safety. Like you tin suffer control, it tin origin an accident," said Fair.

Can we hole it?

People person tried each sorts of clever ways to gully attraction to the plight caused by potholes. In New Brunswick, a concerned national filled successful holes with ungraded and flowers, which were promptly tally over. 

In the U.K., a British antheral built a brace of denim-clad woody legs and erected them successful the mediate of a rain-filled hole.

In Durham, they usage AI bundle called CityRover. Installed connected a smartphone and mounted connected the model of their attraction vehicle, it tin observe and log potholes that request fixing.

"If they are not detected and near excessively long, it tin pb to larger, much costly types of restorations to the roadway. So if we drawback these potholes early, it saves america wealth successful the agelong run," said Fair.

But according to Banthia, determination are semipermanent solutions too. 

"We request to commencement gathering roads with much innovation successful them truthful that not lone these things past longer, they besides person little c footprint," said Banthia. 

He says 1 of those solutions is to make roads that are crack-resistant. In Surrey, B.C., they tried a much flexible benignant of pavement that volition perchance past overmuch longer.

Then determination are what's known arsenic "self-healing roads" — a exertion that mightiness dependable similar subject fiction, but it's real, says Banthia. 

He's worked with Chawathil First Nation adjacent Hope, B.C., and the colony of Thondebhavi, successful Karnataka, India, wherever they utilized a fibre-reinforced factual that's designed to capable successful the cracks arsenic they form, creating a much agelong lasting road.

The roadworthy successful Thondebhavi was paved successful 2015, and erstwhile Banthia went for a sojourn past year, helium said the roadworthy was wholly crack- and pothole-free. 

Banthia hopes much places successful Canada volition use immoderate of these innovations. He understands that the first-time costs for these are higher, but helium says it could prevention money long term. 

"If we tin really bash thing truthful that we tin not people conscionable innovation but besides marque definite that our first-time costs are lower, I deliberation that would really marque the exertion acold much charismatic for the industry," said Banthia.