Winnipeggers wary of pothole season as weather warms

While Winnipeggers may welcome the warmer weather, there are unexpected guests of when the snow melts: potholes

Those potholes not only make for a rough ride, but also a hefty bill if your vehicle hits one of them.

“I find most front-end components are wearable, so things will wear out overtime but hitting pothole, after pothole will definitely make it worse overtime,” said Anthony Pesce, owner of Tony’s Academy Auto.

Winnipeggers told CityNews that they can’t wait for the City to plug the potholes.

“Get it straightened out please. Our cars are getting wrecked, so give it a try and see if you can fix it, please,” said one Winnipegger.

Another said, “Fix them. It’s pretty straight forward. That’s what we pay taxes for right? We should fix them.”

In a statement to CityNews, the City of Winnipeg said it plans to spend $156.8 million for regional and local street repairs in 2026.

Specifically for potholes, the City spent $5.2 million in 2025, $6.3 million in 2024 and $4.3 million in 2023.

“Pothole patching is prioritized citywide based on the street’s priority (determined by traffic volumes and speed limit) and the pothole severity (size and depth),” said Adam Campbell, a spokesperson for the City.

The three-tier priority means it can take between seven and 60 days for non-hazardous potholes to be fixed and three days for hazardous potholes.

While Winnipeggers can’t wait for the roads to be fixed, Manitoba Public Insurance said it has received just 164 pothole-related claims across the province from Jan. 1 to March 8.

The figure is lower than the average 478 pothole-related claims for the first three months of the year.

While the figures do look better so far this year, it remains to be seen if they hold steady for over the next few weeks.

Until then, Pesce advises paying attention to the vehicle.

“Generally, people know the habits of their vehicle so if you start noticing your car pulling to one way or another way or any weird noises, these are all kind of telltale signs that you did some damage,” Pesce said.