Have you noticed the massive potholes near the Walmart entrance in Sault Ste. Marie?
Residents took to social media this week to complain about the potholes, located near the entrance into Walmart off Second Line.
“Just wanted to warn folks, be careful turning into Walmart/Michaels/Petsmart parking lot entrance off Second Line,” said a Facebook post.
“There is a massive pothole that almost took my car out; I know there’s a ton of them around but this one is bad and spans the width of a car, so hard to avoid.”
Dozens of commenters replied to the post, expressing frustration about the pothole situation near Walmart.
“They fixed it, a couple weeks back they patched it, but it didn’t last,” said one commenter. “We went there today and there was a big hole. They need the hot patch but there’s none been made yet.”
“I would've drove right into this specific pothole if I hadn't seen the car ahead of me hit it,” said another commenter. “Thankfully he was going slow, but that's a big deep hole.”
Others complained about potholes around the city more broadly.
“My husband saw a pigeon bathing in a pothole it was so deep,” said a commenter. “They're so bad this year, not looking forward to construction season this year.”
While the city could not immediately provide comments about the Walmart potholes specifically, city staff said potholes are filled based on size, level of street traffic, and the number of reports the city receives.
“At this time of the year, a cold mix is applied. A recycled asphalt product will be used to transition to the point when asphalt plants open,” said Susan Hamilton Beach, deputy CAO of public works and engineering services.
“A minimum maintenance standard provided by the province sets a required response time once reported based on the traffic volume of the roadway. Once hot asphalt becomes available, roadways are repaired in a more ‘permanent’ manner.”
Potholes can be reported to public works by emailing [email protected].
“Potholes are being fixed daily if our workers are not required to respond to weather events such as flooding, snow, or freezing rain,” Beach said.
“Evidently, this year's pothole season is shaping up to be a significant year. Our extreme winter conditions and heavy rain events, such as those we have experienced in recent weeks, have contributed to this.”