A single pothole at the bottom of The Cut on Highway 1 in North Vancouver claimed more than a dozen tires during the Monday morning commute.
It was still dark when Calven Wang felt the bump rock his car in the left westbound lane near the Mountain Highway interchange around 6:45 a.m.
“The first thing I thought to myself was ‘Please don’t be a popped tire. Please don’t be a popped tire,’” he said. “And it was a popped tire.”
Wang pulled over to the shoulder where he saw the driver of a white Toyota with its emergency lights on. He called for the assistance of a tow truck. While he waited, more drivers pulled over to the shoulder. Wang exchanged contact info with a few of them.
“It was the same thing. Mostly everybody had their driver’s side front tire popped,” he said.
After about 40 minutes he was back on the road, but by then the crowd had grown.
“Right when I was leaving, there were at least 15 cars that were either parked and changing their tires or on their phones. … It was a pretty disgusting day out there. It was not fun,” he added with laugh.
Miller Capilano, the highway maintenance contractor for the North Shore, quickly closed the lane and filled in the pothole before 8 a.m. Wang said he will be seeking to file a claim with the province. Drivers who are injured or have their vehicles damaged on provincial highways may be compensated if they can prove the damages have arisen out of construction or maintenance activities.
