Drivers in the Montreal suburb of Hampstead are navigating a treacherous lunar landscape on Ellerdale Road, where massive potholes and craters have transformed a main thoroughfare into a hazard. The situation, captured in photos on Friday, January 9, 2026, shows vehicles swerving into oncoming lanes to avoid deep cavities, some measuring over a metre wide.
A Road More Hole Than Pavement
The eastbound lane between Côte-St-Luc Road and Queen Mary Road is particularly devastated, an area heavily used by the STM's No. 51 bus. The road's condition deteriorated further due to recent freeze-thaw cycles, exacerbating a problem that earned Ellerdale a spot on CAA-Québec's list of Montreal's worst roads last year.
Hampstead Mayor Jeremy Levi confirmed that relief is planned. "We are moving forward with the rehabilitation," Levi stated via text message. "It is included in our 2026 budget, and we are going to tender to have it done this year." The road's repair was previously stalled in a bureaucratic standoff between the Town of Hampstead and the City of Montreal.
A Province-Wide Problem with a Hefty Price Tag
Ellerdale is not an isolated case. Service roads along major highways and streets across Montreal are similarly pockmarked. Nicolas Ryan, a spokesperson for CAA-Québec, explained the perfect storm causing the crisis: a prolonged cold snap followed by a sudden warm-up, compounded by snow-clearing operations that damage already vulnerable pavement.
The underlying issue, however, is decades of underinvestment. A CAA study revealed Quebec has a staggering $21.5 billion asset maintenance deficit—the amount needed to bring all roads to an acceptable state. This neglect costs Quebec drivers approximately $258 per car annually, nearly double the Canadian average.
"The reality is that we've been lagging on investment for 40 years," Ryan said. "We can't blame one government or another... the state of the roads is damning in the province and in Montreal." He added that modern, heavier vehicles like large SUVs and electric cars are pounding roads designed for lighter traffic decades ago.
Reporting and Jurisdictional Hurdles
For roads under provincial jurisdiction, the Ministry of Transport conducts constant repairs. Spokesperson Sarah Bensadoun noted that while no specific large-scale operation is currently underway, potholes are addressed as soon as they are reported by ministry patrollers or the public. Citizens can report problems on highways by calling 511 or visiting quebec511.info.
Ryan pointed to jurisdictional confusion as another barrier to efficient repairs. "Governments need to talk to each other to figure out how to pay for all these things, and all the bureaucracy certainly doesn't help," he remarked, advocating for a more coordinated approach.
With the repair tender for Ellerdale Road expected this year, Hampstead residents are left hoping their vehicular obstacle course will soon be a memory, even as the larger, multi-billion-dollar challenge of Quebec's crumbling infrastructure remains.
