It will come to the surprise of nobody who drives in Calgary, but the state of our roads falls well below the Canadian average, according to the Pavement Quality Index (PQI).
The Calgary Herald reports that PQI ratings show that only 38% of roads in Calgary are rated good or very good.
The national average is 61%. Only 10 years ago, 74% of Calgary’s roads were rated good or very good.
While the city’s freeze/thaw cycles are mainly to blame for the proliferation of potholes, City council has publicly bemoaned the choices of previous members for decreasing the budget for road repairs over four consecutive years as another reason. There is currently a $550-million cumulative backlog in Calgary for surface overlays and other road rehabilitation work. And the longer the City waits to fix our roads, the more expensive the repairs become.
Thankfully, Calgary’s vicious freeze/thaw cycles may actually end up helping with the pothole situation this year. The major snowfalls we had last winter came with horribly cold weather, but it warmed up quickly enough to not require a lot of snow clearing. That has left about $8.9 million in the snow-clearing budget, which Calgary council recently voted to reallocate to road remediation.
The numbers do not lie. The City has already filled 2,000 more potholes so far in 2024 than they did last year, despite snow hanging around a lot later than usual. There have been 6,267 pothole and roadway repair requests in past two months, and approximately 9,000 have been filled. It’s already a record year, and not in a good way, as last year the City filled just over 33,000 potholes, more than ever before.
Calgary has 16,800 kilometres of paved streets, which is equal to a $10-billion asset that needs to be taken care of. Officials say they will concentrate on “priority” streets first.
How do potholes form?
Potholes form when water gets underneath pavement and freezes, expands, and then melts. This expansion and contraction can result in the pavement weakening and collapsing, which is then made worse by the weight of vehicles passing over. This can happen a number of times over the course of a normal Calgary winter and is part of the reason why Calgary uses a sand and salt mixture on icy roads. Salt can increase the probability of potholes occurring by prematurely melting snow, which will only then re-freeze.
If you spot a pothole, report it by calling 311. The City also provides a pothole map, which details where potholes are so drivers can do their best to avoid them.
Potholes and your car insurance
If you’ve driven into a pothole and notice something wrong with your car, it’s best to pull over to the side of the road and assess the damage. Whether the damage involves the rim, a hubcap, the tire, or any other part of the vehicle, try to take photos when it’s safe to do so. Note the location of the pothole and take a photo of that, as well, if safe to do so. Dashboard camera footage may also be useful.
If your vehicle is damaged by a pothole and the damage is enough to warrant a car insurance claim, you will be covered. However, it’s important to weigh the pluses and minuses of doing so. When you file a claim, you will be required to pay your deductible, for which the most common amount is $500 for vehicles. With that will also likely come a hike in your insurance rates. If the repair costs are less than your deductible (or only slightly more), it is probably more economical to pay for the damage out of pocket.
In addition, your insurer will likely treat your unfortunate interaction with a pothole as a collision, which means you must have collision coverage to file a claim. Many drivers only carry comprehensive coverage, so a nasty entanglement with an unexpected hole in the road will not be covered in those circumstances.
As recourse, it is possible to submit a claim against the City of Calgary for pothole damage, however there are a number of stipulation involved. The City’s website states that, “In order for the City to be liable (for pothole damage), there must be proof or evidence that we knew or ought to have known that this defect existed in the roadway. Not only is our knowledge of the defect required but also that we neglected to act upon that knowledge. This type of loss is generally not covered by The City.”
In short, the best thing to do is to avoid a pothole altogether, so keep your eyes open and drive defensively.
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