The freeze/thaw cycle that comes to Weyburn every year can wreak havoc on infrastructure. During the day, temperatures reach above the freezing mark, which means water can seep into every little nook and cranny it can find. Then, as night comes, the water freezes, and when it freezes, it expands, which can exacerbate cracks in asphalt, sidewalks, and more. Those cracks can then develop into things like potholes.  

“We are down to bare surface, we don’t have snow anymore and any kind of change in temperatures,” explained Jennifer Wilkinson, the Director of Engineering with the City of Weyburn. “Obviously your higher usage streets or areas where you would see the truck route on, they’re going to be more susceptible to it because they do have a lot more weight and a lot more traffic on them.” 

In order to help keep the potholes at bay, there is work done, as conditions allow, to get them filled. However, for some of the areas that are more susceptible to the development of potholes, a little bit more would be needed. 

“If we know it is a re-occurring area, then we kind of put it into the long-term plan to possibly look at digging that area of the street out and rebuilding the base in the hopes we can avoid that freeze/thaw,” Wilkinson added. 

One of the areas that do see a few concerns raised about the condition is 1st Avenue North, which is also Highway 13. It is one of the most heavily driven streets in the city, and at times it can show quite a bit of wear and tear that the freeze/thaw cycle can exaggerate.  

“For situations like that, we obviously work with the Department of Highways, because that’s considered an Urban Highway Connector and we’ve identified we have some problem areas there so we apply for funding through the (provincial) government in hopes we can rehabilitate those streets.”