Hamilton has the top two worst roads in Ontario, CAA finds

For the second year in a row, Aberdeen Avenue in Hamilton takes the title of CAA Ontario’s Worst Road for 2025.

The road first appeared on the regional list for Hamilton’s worst roads in 2021, making it to the provincial list in 2023. However, it wasn’t until 2024 that Aberdeen received the very special title of Ontario’s worst road for the first time.

Moving up this year – Barton Street East. Previously, Barton Street held the title for two years in 2022 and 2023. Last year, it was demoted to third, falling behind Eglinton Avenue West in Toronto.

“Burlington Street in Hamilton was a frequent flyer in the top ten a few years ago, and it eventually came off the list,” said Brian Pirvu with the CAA of South Central Ontario. “Aberdeen, Barton – them being in the top two – they are actually frequently traveled on.”

Here’s the full list:

Ontario’s Top 10 Worst Roads for 2025

1. Aberdeen Avenue, Hamilton
2. Barton Street East, Hamilton
3. County Road 49, Prince Edward County
4. Eglinton Avenue West, Toronto
5. Hurontario Street, Mississauga
6. Leveque Road, South Frontenac
7. Highway 50, Caledon
8. Sider Road, Fort Erie
9. Gardiner Expressway, Toronto
10. Sheppard Avenue West, Toronto

The CAA’s worst roads list also selects the worst roads by region.

Worst Roads by Region
Toronto – Eglinton Avenue West
Hamilton – Aberdeen Avenue
Halton-Peel-York-Durham— Hurontario Street, Mississauga
Central—7th Line, Innisfil
Eastern— County Road 49, Prince Edward County
Niagara— Sider Road, Fort Erie
North— Panache Lake Road, Greater Sudbury
Southwest— Banwell Road, Windsor
Western— Dundas Street, London
Ottawa— Carling Avenue

This year, Ontarians nominated 400 more roads and 63 more municipalities, bringing this year’s total to 2,400 roads and 208 municipalities.

Survey respondents shared their primary reasons for selecting a road, 84 per cent cite potholes, 77 say poor road maintenance was their motivation and 15 per cent suggested traffic congestion makes their road the worst in Ontario.

Twenty-six per cent of those surveyed expressed dissatisfaction with road work projects. However, 85 per cent say they can put up with the inconvenience of construction.

The City of Hamilton said they are aware of the road conditions and have had a repair plan in place before CAA’s list came out.

“We are patrolling, we have our own condition assessments,” said Carolyn Ryall, the director of transportation for Hamilton.

The information gathered through city assessments and patrols gets rolled into their Capital and Assessment Management Planning.

“It’s got nothing to do with the deciding of ‘we only have so much budget and do we downgrade the quality of our road’,” said Ryall. “I rest assure you that’s not how this is done.”

The city adds that there are standards on everything to do with road repairs, from traffic signal installations, to the materials used for paving.

Once these roads get fixed, according to the CAA, they tend to drop off the list.

For the full list of the worst roads of 2025, visit www.caasco.com/worstroads

READ MORE: CAA kicks off its Worst Roads campaign in Ontario