A new threat emerges on Saskatoon roads as the snow melts: potholes

What a difference a week makes.

Drivers have new issues to contend with on the roadways. Pothole season has quickly arrived and it looks like there may be some grey area when it comes to who’s footing the bill for damage caused by road issues.

A pothole on Diefenbaker Drive has garnered some attention on a Saskatoon traffic Facebook page, after one driver posted photos of the severe damage they say it inflicted on their vehicle.

The post ignited a debate about whether the city bears any responsibility for damages caused by road issues, with some claiming the city has compensated drivers in some cases.

Can you make the city pay if a pothole damages your car?

Don’t count on it, SGI spokesperson Tyler McMurchy says — it’s not the norm.

“When it comes to the city’s maintenance, I understand that people may have opinions on that, generally speaking though the insurance claim for a pothole, is subject to the driver’s deductible,” McMurchy, told CTV News.

“Unless there are circumstances the driver can establish the city knew about the road and did not do anything about it, and was negligent in that respect, but that’s very difficult to establish in the course of an insurance claim,” he said.

The city roadways department has all crews and back-up out this week dealing with snow removal and the new issues arising from the melt.

“We expect a lot of melt conditions based on the snow we had. Usually we have more time between the snow and when we start to deal with thaw to clean up. We don’t have that this year,” said Cam LeClaire, roadways manager with the City of Saskatoon.

LeClaire encourages drivers to notify the city about any areas of concern.

“We have resources available to respond to complaints so as those complaints come in we’re ramping up our response as well,” he says.

With more melting underway and more damage to roads likely — caution is advised.

“Obviously remaining undistracted is important as well and if you see a puddle, trying to avoid them as best as you can,” McMurchy said.

You can see an up-to-date map of the city’s potholes and report your own on the City of Saskatoon website.

It shows work that has already been done in green as well as high priority areas in red. One of those is that stretch on Diefenbaker Drive, which by Monday was filled with a temporary fix of gravel.