pothole havoc — windsor roads hit by ‘extremely challenging' freeze-thaw winter weather
if you’ve experienced a particularly bumpy ride on wind...
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if you’ve experienced a particularly bumpy ride on windsor roads this year, you’re not alone.
city hall staff say the numerous freeze-thaw cycles the local region is experiencing this winter are wreaking more havoc than usual on vehicles travelling the region’s streets.
“this year has been extremely challenging,” phong nguy, executive director of operations, told city council monday.
“we have unusually warm weather followed by an extremely deep-freezing in multiple sessions. it definitely put a lot of stress on our road network. with that, you’re certainly seeing the extreme movement of frost-heaving in our road network.”
ward 10 coun. jim morrison raised the issue at this week’s council meeting, noting roads seem to be “greatly affected” by recent weather, and he asked staff to explain.
“i know we talk about this every year, with potholes and everything, but this seems to be a little more unique this year,” morrison said.
nguy said staff are monitoring streets and will respond “immediately” to any road emergency — but most of windsor’s cracks and potholes will have to wait until the spring.
“it’s not unique to our municipalities. surrounding municipalities in essex county are experiencing the same phenomenon. it’s definitely an issue throughout this area.
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stacey mcguire, deputy city engineer, said this winter “has been fairly unique in terms of what we’re experiencing with the freeze-thaw.”
speaking with reporters after monday’s meeting, windsor mayor drew dilkens said a street near his south windsor home is “unlike anything i’ve ever seen.
“i’m getting calls from many folks who use collector roads that are feeling the significant strain of the freeze-thaw cycle on our roads,” dilkens said.
“there really isn’t a lot we can do at this particular point in time until we get a sustained thaw. then we can address the problem areas when the roads settle back down.
“i drive these roads too, and it is quite amazing to see what’s happened over the course of this winter in the city of windsor, but we’ll fix them as soon as we can.”
a series of potholes is shown along giles boulevard east in windsor on monday, feb. 24, 2025.
dan janisse
/
windsor star
windsor’s 2025 capital budget allocates $134.2 million for roads and sewer infrastructure. that includes $16.1 million for road rehabilitation at various locations, plus more than $3.4 million for local road rehab.
according to the capital budget, nearly 20 per cent of windsor’s road system is rated as “now deficient,” and the city road replacement cost is estimated at approximately $2.1 billion.
based on the city’s 35-year replacement cycle, budget documents state, the required annual cost to replace road infrastructure is approximately $50 million to $60 million.
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streets proposed for complete road reconstruction in 2025 are labadie road, from ontario to seminole streets; erie street, from pelissier street to janette avenue; and giles boulevard, from victoria to janette avenues.
the 2025 budget proposes mill-and-pave work on chilver road, from assumption street to the cul-de-sac; chrysler centre’s southbound lanes, from tecumseh road to grand marais road; and somme avenue, from chrysler centre to meldrum road.
potholes can be reported by calling 311 or via the city’s windsor 311 smartphone app.
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