Pothole season in full swing in Sault Ste. Marie

Spring pothole season is hitting drivers in Sault Ste. Marie hard, with record claims and vehicle damage last year, many claim this year is worse.

It has been a few weeks since the official start of spring. Here in northern Ontario, we’ve already entered everyone’s least favourite season: pothole season.

For many drivers in Sault Ste. Marie, it’s the worst they’ve seen in years. If there’s ever a time of year when drivers need to be especially vigilant, it’s now.

The freeze-thaw cycle of spring means roads are taking a beating -- and so are vehicles.

“Literally everywhere you go,” one driver told CTV News.

“Especially Great Northern Road, like, it’s a main road. And I’m swerving all over the place trying to ... miss big potholes. It’s wild.”

“I don’t think you can drive even for 10 minutes without hitting one, two, three, four,” another person said.

“And then that just breaks your mojo.”

The City of Sault Ste. Marie said that in the past five years, it has received more than 500 pothole insurance claims from residents, with the average payout at around $200.

That checks with another driver we spoke with.

“I was driving just normal, regular speed and all I hear is just ‘bang,’” they said.

“I step out of the car, boom. Busted. I did the claim and it gave me $73.45 back. I said, ‘This is brutal.’ I had to change two tires. They were worth $450 each.”

Francine Floreani, from Our Driving School in the Sault, said people trying to avoid potholes present a new challenge on the road.

“You always have to be aware of your surroundings because people are kind of like trying to avoid them,” Floreani said.

“So they’ll be crossing over into your lane or be very close (to your vehicle). And I think the other thing, too, is people don’t realize that you have to really slow down. Speed is not really conducive, you know, to potholes.”

In the last five years, 2025 saw the most pothole claims with 199. Dan Perri of Sault Ste. Marie Public Works said the city tends to focus their repair efforts in areas where they receive the most pothole claims.

“You know, we have 1,225 lane kilometres of roads throughout the city,” Perri said.

“So there is a focus on prioritizing the pothole filling where there’s going to be more traffic and a higher likelihood of issues on those roads.”

City officials remind the public that the municipality’s website has information on ways to report potholes to public works.