Our January weather has been perfect for an explosion of potholes, but drivers may not have particularly noticed it.

City workers have so far been able to patch them at a higher pace than last year, because they haven’t been needed to clear snow.

And they’ll be on a pothole blitz this Saturday, when 60 patching crews totalling about 130 employees will fan out across the city between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. to fill as many as they can.

Figures provided by transportation services show that about 15,000 potholes were filled from Jan. 1 to Jan. 29. For the same period last year, just 8,900 patches were applied to potholes, while about 200,000 potholes were filled in all of 2019.

Mark Mills, a city superintendent of road operations, said we’ve had a lot more freeze-and-thaw weather in January — ideal conditions for potholes — than last year, when it was colder and snowier.

“Last January, we were into some very cold weather, so we didn’t have the freeze-thaw events that we’ve had this year, which are the perfect recipe for creating potholes,” said Mills in an interview.

When it rains or snow melts in mild weather, the moisture seeps into porous pavement and particularly into temporary asphalt that has already been applied to a pothole, Mills explained.

As the temperature drops below freezing, the water turns to ice and expands, loosening the patch, he said. And when traffic crosses over it, the asphalt crumbles and migrates from the pothole, which is why it seems like the same potholes keep reappearing.

With record rainfall in early January and at least some snow, Mills said there are a lot more potholes to fill, but the Saturday blitz is expected to put a big dent in the number.

“On any given day across the city, we’ll probably have 10 to 15 crews fixing potholes,” he said. “When it snows, those are the people who may be driving salt trucks or clearing sidewalks or bus stops.

“When they aren’t dealing with snow, one of our main objectives is to get them out to deal with potholes.”

A total of six one-day blitzes last year filled 53,000 potholes, he said, adding that the target for this Saturday is 10,000.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

The city’s road maintenance budget for 2019 was $182 million, with upwards of $4 million spent on pothole patching. It adds up to about $25 per pothole.

The city’s goal is to try to patch a pothole within four days of hearing about it, he said, adding that the public can report them by calling or emailing 311.

What's broken in your neighbourhood? Wherever you are in Greater Toronto, we want to know. Email jlakey@thestar.ca or follow @TOStarFixer on Twitter