The Sault's miscellaneous road resurfacing budget, described by city staff as chronically underfunded, got a shot in the arm this week.
With larger road construction projects coming in under budget, City Council agreed to allocate an extra million dollars to miscellaneous paving and resurfacing, bringing the 2020 total to $1.7 million.
Here's what they're planning to get done in 2020:Class A: asphalt roads with curbs and storm sewers
- Grosvenor Avenue - Bruce Street to Trelawne Avenue - resurfacing
- Grand Boulevard - St.George’s Avenue to Northern Avenue - resurfacing
- Penno Road - People’s Road to St. Patrick Street - resurfacing
Class B: asphalt roads with roadside ditches
- Korah Road - Rossmore Road to Moss Road - resurfacing
- Cooper Street - Second Line to 200 metres north of Second Line
Class C: surface-treated roads
- Tallack Boulevard - People’s Road to west limit
Miscellaneous paving jobs
- Albert/Andrew Street intersection - see earlier coverage
- Allen’s Side Road Bridge over West Davignon Creek - expansion joints and approach slabs for this bridge require rehabilitation
- a quantity of crack sealing and full-lane patches on other roads may be included, budget permitting
"Each year, the majority of the miscellaneous construction budget is allocated to road resurfacing," says Don Elliott, the city's director of engineering.
"The purpose of the miscellaneous construction budget is to meet the demands of many small capital construction projects."
"Over the years, the vast majority of miscellaneous construction funding has been diverted to road resurfacing. Further, rising resurfacing costs are slowly eroding the effectiveness of the program especially when the budget has not been increased, even for inflation, in decades," Elliott said in a report to Mayor Provenzano and ward councillors.
"Several arterial roads are in need of new surfaces, thereby requiring that a portion of the capital roads budget be re-directed to resurfacing, which only defers capital road reconstruction. For example, the 2020 resurfacing of Northern Avenue will be funded under a separate contract under the capital roads program."
Ward 1 Coun. Paul Christian expressed concern that no projects were planned for the city's east end.
"Most of the worst roads are not in Ward 1," Elliott replied.
"The resurfacing is generally concentrated in the older parts of town. But I would add also that Trunk Road under the connecting link program will receive $3 million in resurfacing. That's in the east end."