Montreal ‘patches’ potholes ahead of weekend marathon

City spokesperson Philippe Sabourin says roads have already been patched to ensure the Marathon Beneva de Montréal unfolds safely.

It was off to the races Sunday at Montreal’s Grand Prix Cyclistes.

Then came a crash.

Dutch cyclist Pascal Eenkhoorn went down.

The culprit? A poorly repaired pothole on Camillien-Houde Way.

“Some [Montreal] roads are good, but a lot of them have issues,” one regular cyclist said when asked about the race incident.

The city is now facing questions about the quality of roads ahead of this weekend’s Marathon Beneva de Montréal.

City spokesperson Philippe Sabourin says roads have already been patched to ensure the event unfolds safely.

“We want this weekend to be a fiesta for every runners. In order to make sure everything goes smoothly, we patched all the potholes on this circuit. Especially on Saint-Laurent and we’ve been working very hard on Saint-Joseph Street as well,” he said.

More than 30,000 runners are expected for the Friday to Sunday event. The circuits range from Parc Jean-Drapeau and downtown to Ahuntsic and Maisonneuve Park.

Roads will remain open on Friday and closures on Saturday are planned around the park itself.

For Sunday, “there’s no impact on the west side of Saint-Laurent. East part of Saint-Laurent, there’s Saint-Laurent being closed,” Sabourin said.

“You also have Saint-Joseph being closed and the streets around the park Maisonneuve will be closed between, let’s say, 4:00 a.m. up to 4:00 p.m.” he told CTV.

The city advises everyone to use public transport as much as they can.