City gets steamrolled by high asphalt prices

‘Apparently, a couple of the suppliers have missed the deadline for submitting [bids] for various reasons’ - Larry Girardi, the city’s deputy CAO for public works and engineering services

Stock imageSteve Johnson at Pexels

Every year, two or three companies bid for a contract supplying the City of Sault Ste. Marie with various grades of asphalt used for road construction projects.

This year, the city received just one bid: from local construction firm Ellwood Robinson Inc.

"Although only one tender was received, it is deemed reasonable," said Karen Marlow, the city's manager of purchasing.

City council decided last week to accept that tender, which represented a whopping price hike.

Asked by Ward 5 Coun. Matthew Scott exactly how much more we'll be spending for construction asphalt, Larry Girardi, the city's deputy chief administrative officer for public works and engineering services, said he didn't have all the numbers in front of him but figured the increase was around 34 per cent compared to 2022.

"There's definitely an increase in asphalt prices from last year to this year," Girardi said.

"This year was quite unusual. Apparently, a couple of the suppliers have missed the deadline for submitting [bids] for various reasons."

SooToday crunched the numbers ourselves and Girardi's 34 per cent guesstimate seems pretty much accurate.

Here's how we calculated the one-year hike for the five asphalt grades bought by the city:

32.5 per cent for HL2 Asphalt
33.6 per cent for HL3 Asphalt
35.3 per cent for HL3A Asphalt
29.1 per cent for HL4 Asphalt
40.0 per cent for HL8 Asphalt

These grades aren't the cold mix the city uses to patch potholes.

They're versions of road-paving asphalt ranging from fine to coarse.

Pavement often has two layers: a base course for structure and a surface course for wear.

"The lower the number, the finer, the smoother ride," says Carl Rumiel, the city's director of engineering.

"HL8 would be what we call a heavy-duty binder course."

Work on Carmen's Way would likely have HL8 as the bottom layer and HL3 on top, Girardi said.

The reconstruction of Bay Street had the same two grades.

The following list, compiled by SooToday from city purchasing records, shows asphalt prices paid by the city over the past five years, with estimated quantities where available:

2023 prices (Ellwood Robinson lowest among two bidders)

HL2 Asphalt - 1439 tonnes - $159 per tonne

HL3 Asphalt - 925 tonnes - $157 per tonne

HL3A Asphalt - 2570 tonnes - $159 per tonne

HL4 Asphalt - 607 tonnes - $149.80 per tonne

HL8 Asphalt - 408 tonnes - $159 per tonne

2022 prices (Avery Construction lowest among three bidders)

HL2 Asphalt - 1000 tonnes - $120 per tonne

HL3 Asphalt - 2340 tonnes - $117.50 per tonne

HL3A Asphalt - 3000 tonnes - $117.50 per tonne

HL4 Asphalt - 249 tonnes - $116 per tonne

HL8 Asphalt - 785 tonnes - $113.50 per tonne