The City of Kitchener is working around the clock on pothole repairs. Here’s how you can help.

When spring approaches, more potholes begin to appear on city streets. The City of Kitchener’s operations crews are working around the clock to inspect city streets and repair potholes, and there are ways residents can help. 

Freeze-thaw conditions in the spring allow water to seep beneath the road surface and expand as it re-freezes. This cracks the pavement and, combined with vehicle traffic, forms potholes. 

City staff are working at full capacity to address potholes through road patrols and 24/7 repairs that fix up to 400 potholes per day. We keep a comprehensive log of service requests that combine potholes identified on our road patrols, potholes reported by residents and potholes that need permanent repairs when conditions improve. Each identified pothole is prioritized for repair based on safety factors like size, location and traffic volume.  

During cold and wet conditions, we can only make temporary repairs with cold mix asphalt since the conditions prevent hot asphalt from bonding with the road surface. This means some areas may experience potholes several times throughout the season as temporary repairs are dislodged. We track potholes that received temporary repairs and return to the area when conditions improve to make permanent repairs. 

To help support our teams in keeping our roads smooth and safe: 

Learn more about potholes and Kitchener’s response at Kitchener.ca/Potholes