Potholes big enough to fish in need fixing, Whitbourne man says

Edward Smith was so fed up with the state of a road in his town that he says he went to the highway depot to complain in person.

"One time I went back and applied for a fishing licence. And they said, Why? I said, 'because the holes in the road are deep enough to fish in,'" Smith said.

Old Brigus Road in Whitbourne runs parallel to the Trans-Canada Highway, and according to Smith, is well-used by residents in the area.

"That's where we go to get our groceries and everything we need, and back and forth to St. John's, we cut back here," he said.

"The road is ridiculous."

The stretch of road, which has drivers zig-zaging and slowing down to a crawl to avoid potholes, also leads to the RCMP's new detachment.

"I figured when the police station came up here they'd fix it but they never did a darn thing."

Not quite the 'worst road'

Smith said there's lots of talk about how bad the road is, but too little action.

"There's signs everywhere: beware of potholes. If they put more asphalt on the roads than signs, it may fix it," he said.

"This has got to be the worst road anywhere."

He's not totally correct, but the worst road — according to The Canadian Automobile Association's annual list of the most terrible streets — isn't far away.

Markland Road, which connects Whitbourne and Colinet, is number four on the list of the worst roads in Atlantic Canada.

"This part of the Avalon Peninsula is forgotten about," Smith said.

"I've been a lot of places and Whitbourne Road and Markland Road say, I'd say, are in the Top 10 bad roads in Newfoundland."

The provincial Department of Transportation and Works is responsible for the road.

In a statement, a department spokesperson said repairs will begin on a number of roadways now that the snow is gone.

And it said Old Brigus Road will be considered to be added to the list of projects under the province's five-year provincial roads plan.