Broken machinery forces Montreal to rely solely on manual pothole repairs

Faced with a record number of potholes, Montreal is relying solely on manual repair work as most of its pothole machinery is broken down or out of service.

Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada asked residents for patience on Monday, stressing it could take up to a year to purchase new machinery.

“I don’t have a single Python 5000 that works, I don’t have machines capable of heating asphalt for patchwork … I don’t have the tools or equipment to ask blue-collar workers to do the work they need to do,” Martinez Ferrada told reporters at city hall. 

“So it’s going to take time.”

Martinez Ferrada’s Ensemble Montréal administration has been dealing with the pothole issue since this winter, acknowledging the city’s streets are in a “disastrous” state.

In December, the city found itself without its usual contract to mechanically patch potholes after issues with the call for tenders. In response, the city announced 10 privately negotiated contracts in February for companies to repair potholes over eight days.

Last week, it announced an additional $1 million in funding to boroughs dealing with the most pothole-related complaints and another $1 million in new contracts to manually fix potholes.

Martinez Ferrada acknowledged relying solely on manual repair work isn’t ideal, but said she’s working on addressing the issue.

“I’m going to make sure that by next spring we aren’t caught in a situation like the one we’re currently in,” Martinez Ferrada said. “For a city and metropolis like Montreal, it’s certainly not what we want or the service we want to give our citizens.”

The city’s four broken-down Python 5000 machines usually repair up to 300 potholes each per day. The city has described them as “fragile” in recent weeks and said it’s looking into new technology used elsewhere that could be implemented in Montreal. 

Martinez Ferrada said she would like to quickly purchase new machines but noted the city is governed by procurement laws and it can be a lengthy process.

The official opposition at city hall, Projet Montréal, pressed the mayor on the issue at Monday’s city council meeting, noting the number of potholes has jumped by 26 per cent this year.

The party blamed the administration for the failed December contract and said its decision to carry out snow clearing — even on days when there was little snow — put unnecessary pressure on the city’s streets ahead of the spring. 

Plateau-Mont-Royal city councillor Marie Plourde, the party’s leader in council, noted the new administration’s first budget reduced the money allocated to paving and repairing the city’s roads.

Plourde accused the administration of only acting on the issue last week after a resident gained online attention by patching potholes himself.

“Is it normal the administration doesn’t have a comprehensive plan for the city’s streets and only takes action when the mayor gets a flat tire or when an influencer pushes her to do so?” she said.

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