News Release
November 6, 2020

Today, Mayor John Tory announced a pothole repair blitz will take place this Saturday, November 7 to help keep Toronto’s roads in a state of good repair in advance of the start of winter.

This will be the seventh weekend repair blitz of 2020. Previous one-day blitzes took place in February (two), March (one) and May (three) and crews were able to repair approximately 42,700 potholes during the blitzes earlier in the year.

Crews will begin repairing as many potholes as possible on Toronto’s expressways, major roads and neighbourhood streets starting early Saturday morning. Tomorrow’s event will see approximately 35 crews and 92 people repairing potholes throughout the city. City staff will work a 12-hour shift with appropriate physical distancing measures in place. On a typical day, 25 crews are out proactively repairing potholes, and already this year staff have fixed nearly 170,000 potholes.

Residents who are driving or biking for essential travel on Saturday are advised to expect minor delays. The public is asked to be safe by respecting work zones and giving crews space while they make repairs.

Potholes can normally be repaired within four days of crews being made aware, through both proactive patrols and via 311 service requests from residents. When there are large numbers of potholes to be repaired, they are triaged based on size, and repairs are prioritized on major roads first.

The City has a comprehensive road maintenance program and has budgeted close to $220 million in 2020 for road repairs, rehabilitation and maintenance work, including between $4 million and $5 million to fix potholes on streets, including in bike lanes. Each pothole costs approximately $25 to repair.

Learn more about how Toronto manages potholes or report one that needs to be repaired at toronto.ca/potholes. The public can report potholes by calling 311 or emailing 311@toronto.ca.

Quotes:

“City of Toronto workers will be out all day Saturday taking advantage of this uncommonly warm weather we’re experiencing to repair as many potholes as possible before the cold and snow comes back. It’s important this work gets done to keep our roads safe for people driving and cycling in our city. Please slow down and be respectful of the crews when you encounter them working.”

– Mayor John Tory

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Media Relations