What is Road Soup? Winnipeg test drives new pothole patching project

There may be hope for Winnipeggers as they try to dodge numerous potholes on their daily commute.

The city is testing out a new product known as Road Soup, which would be used to help fill the craters during the early spring.

Normally, the city uses a cold asphalt mix when the weather is still cooler, but the mix doesn't last long. Once the weather warms up, a more permanent hot mix is applied.

But with Road Soup, it can be combined with the cold recycled asphalt. The city hopes this will last longer through the typical freeze-thaw cycle so potholes don't need to be filled more than once.

"I really appreciate the Public Works Department (trying) all sorts of different products and techniques," said Coun. Janice Lukes.

As of April 7, Manitoba Public Insurance had more than 1,600 pothole claims filed by drivers this year.

Jeremie Pantel works at West End Tire and has seen his fair share of pothole damaged vehicles come in.

"About two months ago, we started seeing a lot more than normal," he said. "Usually, we see more around this time, but with the low amount of snow and (the) quick melt, everything came out quicker."

He added the main problems have been blown-out tires or cracked rims, but there have been extreme cases like issues with front-end suspensions.

While the hope is the new product will work, Lukes said the city also needs to address the actual problem – fixing Winnipeg's aging streets.

"The solution to our roads situation is we need to be working with the province, which we are doing, on a new funding model, and we need to be working with the federal government," said Lukes.

The city said representatives from Road Soup are in Winnipeg now, helping mix a stockpile product. The stockpile will be used as a supplement to hot asphalt repairs this summer, and then the effectiveness will be measured during next year's freeze-thaw cycle.