"We continue to fill them, but the prolonged winter keeps playing havoc on the roads."

Cold temperatures exacerbate the formation of potholes, as water expands when it freezes and puts more stress on cracked pavement. Potholes also continue to evolve in the spring months because the sub-grade is weak due to high moisture content, which accelerates the growth of potholes. If the holes become bad enough they can cause damage to a vehicles tires and suspension.

According to LeMay, they have night workers going out and filling the holes that are on main city roads. He said busy streets are hard to reach through the day because of heavy traffic. LeMay said the city also has crews travelling to the sub-division streets through the day.

The city is currently using a mixture of millings, which is recycled asphalt and cement particles, and a cold mixture. Cold filling does not adhere well on its own, so the city puts the cold material along with the millings in a hot mixer so that it adheres better to the existing asphalt. The city has been using the combination of the two materials for about 10 years; prior to that they simply used the cold compound that needed constant maintenance.

The city will soon purchase what LeMay describes as a giant iron, which will be available in time for next winter. City Council has approved the purchase and LeMay said they are in the process of contacting suppliers who distribute the machine to determine cost. He said after the cold filling and millings are put into the hole, this giant iron is used to heat the surrounding asphalt, making the materials adhere together.

"I actually had a demonstration of this machine last year and now I can't find the pothole that was fixed. It has blended in so well with the existing asphalt that it appears seamless," said LeMay.

According to Tony Siciliai, owner of Pave-Core Paving Inc., the current method the city uses is a temporary winter fix for potholes. He said the cold filling does not achieve the same adhesion as hot asphalt.

"You cannot lay hot asphalt in the winter because it has to be warm so the product doesn't freeze," said Siciliai.

LeMay said the city will begin to use hot asphalt again in late May and workers will then re-visit the potholes that were mended with the other materials. LeMay also said that next year, the recycled material and cold filling will be more useful because the city will have the new machine to assist with patching.

LeMay said he doesn't believe any areas of the city are necessarily worse than others, although he admits the area stretching along businesses on Dundas St. East near the Bay View mall is a continuing problem.

"That part of the road is made up of asphalt millings that were put in nine years ago. What's happening is the millings are being torn up by the trucks that pull off there," said LeMay. "We have been there to fill the potholes and we will continue to do so."

Ellen Slaughter, owner of Sunsational Tanning, which is one of the businesses stretching along Dundas St. East where the potholes are quite deep, said the city is very responsive when complaints are made.

"They were out about a week ago to do a minor repair because the potholes were really quite dreadful, but the potholes are terrible all over the city because it's been a really bad winter," said Slaughter. "While this strip is terrible, it's terrible in other places to."

Slaughter said part of the issue in that area is with drainage. During the winter, snow mountains are created from plowing, and these large snow piles block the drainage ditches leaving the potholes to fill up with water.

"Both the entrances to this plaza are terrible, and part of it is because the water pools are making it worse. Its chews the holes that are already there and its been a problem for years," said Slaughter.

She said she had to call the city twice this winter regarding the drainage issue and how it was impacting the existing potholes, and that both times the city was there within a couple hours to fix the issue.

"While I'm not happy about the situation, I will give the city credit because they have been doing their best to keep our roads in good condition through the winter and they have come by to do a minor patch here," said Slaughter.

She said she has confidence the city will fix the issues throughout the area when the weather improves.

"There is no point right now because it is still too cold to properly fix the holes. However, they are doing what they can," said Slaughter. "I'm quite sure that through the spring and summer the city will be doing some major repairs on those bad areas."