Potholes in St. John's, NL

Population 110,525 · Newfoundland and Labrador

This page shows pothole reports submitted in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. RoadRot is a free, independent platform — anyone can report a pothole, and reports get forwarded to the responsible municipality.

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Why St. John's gets potholes

St. John's sits in one of the wettest, most precipitation-volatile corners of Canada, pulling in roughly 1,191 mm of rain and 322 cm of snow in a typical year. What really punishes the pavement, though, is the constant flip between freezing and thawing through fall and winter, often within the same storm, as heavy snow turns to rain and back again. Water works its way into every crack, freezes, expands, and the road surface breaks apart. Locals know these conditions well, including the freezing rain events sometimes called "silver thaws" that coat streets in clear ice and speed up surface cracking cycles.

How to report potholes in St. John's

To report a pothole directly to the City of St. John's, contact Access St. John's by calling 311 or 754-CITY (2489), emailing access@stjohns.ca, or submitting an online form at StJohns.ca/Access. The city also has a 311 app that lets you pin an exact location and attach a photo. Keep in mind that not every road in the area belongs to the city: provincial routes like the Trans-Canada (Route 1), Pitts Memorial Drive (Route 2), and Team Gushue Highway (Route 3A) are the responsibility of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador's Department of Transportation and Infrastructure, and streets around Memorial University go to facman@mun.ca. RoadRot sits alongside those channels as a public map where anyone can drop a pin, rate severity, and get community confirmations on a report, and the built-in email-your-rep tool lets you fire off a complaint directly to your municipal or provincial representative yourself.
Guides

Hit a pothole in St. John's and damaged your vehicle? Read the Newfoundland and Labrador pothole damage claim guide — deadlines, where to file, and what evidence you need. New to RoadRot? See how to report a pothole.

Common questions

Who is responsible for fixing potholes in St. John's?

It depends on the road. The City of St. John's handles most city streets, including over 100 km of gravel roads that make up roughly 7% of the total road system. Provincial routes like the Trans-Canada Highway (Route 1), Pitts Memorial Drive, Topsail Road, and Team Gushue Highway fall under the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador's Department of Transportation and Infrastructure, and streets around Memorial University are maintained by MUN's facilities management team.

Does St. John's have 311?

Yes. You can reach Access St. John's at 311 or 754-CITY (2489), and the line runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can also report through the city's online form at StJohns.ca/Access, by email at access@stjohns.ca, or via the 311 app, which lets you drop a map pin and attach a photo of the problem.

What's the worst time of year for potholes in St. John's?

Late winter into early spring is typically the worst stretch, after months of repeated freeze-thaw cycles have worked their way through pavement. St. John's also deals with freezing rain events that accelerate surface cracking, so a bad "silver thaw" can leave roads noticeably worse within days. Gravel roads, which make up a significant share of the city's network, deteriorate faster through wet periods at any time of year.

How do I claim vehicle damage from a pothole in Newfoundland and Labrador?

If the damage happened on a city-maintained road, you'd file a claim with the City of St. John's, typically through their legal or insurance office, and you'd need to document the pothole's location, the date, and the damage. For damage on a provincial highway, a claim would go to the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. These claims are not guaranteed to succeed, and governments generally require you to show they had prior notice of the problem, which is one reason public records like RoadRot reports, with timestamps and community confirmations, can be useful supporting evidence.

Does RoadRot send my pothole report to the City of St. John's automatically?

No. RoadRot is a public map: you drop a pin, other drivers can confirm it, and the report is visible to anyone. What RoadRot does give you is an email-your-rep tool that lets you compose and send a complaint to your municipal or provincial representative yourself. The public visibility of confirmed reports is part of what creates pressure, but you're the one who has to hit send.

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