High-speed route crater takes toll on vehicles, motorists’ nerves during morning rush

Several Winnipeg motorists were left stranded at the side of a busy high-speed thoroughfare Wednesday morning with blown tires and damaged rims after hitting a large pothole during their morning commute.

Some said it felt like they had just driven over a curb at highway speed on Abinojii Mikanah, formerly known as Bishop Grandin Boulevard.

“It actually hurt me when I hit it,” said Laura Cumming, one of at least eight drivers whose vehicles were disabled by the pothole in the eastbound curb lane a short distance east from River Road.

Cumming’s vehicle had to be towed to a garage at about 7:15 a.m.

“I felt the pain before I knew what happened,” she said. “It was literally like a little crater. There was a semi (truck) in front of me, so I didn’t see the pothole until I hit it. I pulled over and it was really bad.”

Cumming said both tires on the passenger side of her vehicle were blown out and the rims they were on were damaged. She was relieved to learn later that there was no other damage as a result of travelling on the moonscape, which has a speed limit of 80 km/h.

“I got super-lucky,” she said, noting she had been warned there might have been damage to the car’s axles and suspension.

“I don’t know how the other vehicles are. We were helpless — we couldn’t warn people. All I could do was say, ‘Oh my gosh, here comes another one,’ and they hit the pothole and pulled over to where we were.

“This was not a great way to start my day.”

Last week, Manitoba Public Insurance reported it was on pace this year to break the record for most pothole-related damage claims. The plethora of potholes is being blamed on an unusually mild winter featuring multiple freeze-thaw cycles.

As of April 7, MPI had received 1,634 pothole damage claims this year.

Sarah, who didn’t want her last name used, was another victim Wednesday.

“I tried to swerve, but it was too large; it was two feet by one foot,” she said.

“I couldn’t even slow down because I had people behind me. It took up about half the lane. It popped my passenger tire.”

She said she took photos of the damage to her vehicle and the others, as well. She wants the city to compensate all of them.

“There was a line of us there,” she said. “This cost me half my morning, which I had to take as vacation. If this had not happened I would have been at work on time. If the city won’t keep the roads driveable, it creates a massive collision risk. Drivers can’t be held at fault for this.”

Calls for help have left towing companies nursing battlefield wounds, as well.

“Our own fleet trucks have had some issues dealing with pothole damage,” CAA Manitoba spokeswoman Olivia Hodgkiss said. “So far this year we have had three trucks out of service with broken springs.

“In speaking with the drivers, yes, we have seen an increase in flat tires (and) tire changes, as well as suspension troubles this spring.”

Hodgkiss said CAA has responded to 2,010 tire-related calls in the past six weeks.

City spokeswoman Julie Horbal Dooley said the number of reported potholes needing attention has increased this year.

As of Monday, crews had filled 76,208 potholes thus far in 2024, more than double the 32,005 it dealt with last year during the same time period, she said. The numbers have soared from 28,744 in 2022 and 18,077 in 2021.

She said 4,842 people have requested a pothole be filled this year, compared to 3,109 last year, 2,461 in 2022 and 832 in 2021.

Motorists should contact MPI before filing a damage claim with the city, Dooley said.

“The MPI adjuster will handle many of the details associated with resolving this situation,” she said, adding those who want to lodge a complaint with the city should have a minimum of two repair estimates and book an appointment with a city claims adjuster to examine the damage.

The odds of being compensated by the city are extremely low. Since 2007, there have been just six settlements with vehicle owners.

Dan Roller, owner of Penner Auto Body on Corydon Avenue, said he is seeing plenty of vehicles with blown tires and damaged rims, but also more extensive damage to axles and suspensions.

“We can take caution all you want, but when a pothole is filled with water you don’t know how bad it is,” he said.

Roller said many vehicle owners are surprised to find that depending on a vehicle’s mileage, they are responsible for not just the Autopac deductible, but also a pro-rated portion of the damaged part’s replacement cost.

“People say it was bad enough to have to pay the deductible, but now this?” he said. “Overall, it’s not a great experience when you hit a pothole.”

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca