Road Repair Issues Not Yet Resolved
Prince George, B.C.- 2012 may go down in the books as the year residents said they had enough with bad roads and wanted the City to do something about it.
City Council dug deep,and pulled some money from a reserve fund to repave several roads that were in desperate need of repair.
In all, the City has been able to repave 47.8 kilometres of roadway this year. But despite the extra paving, there are still roads that need upgrading, and a need for funds to ensure roads can be properly maintained.
One of the issues facing our roads is the need for crack sealing as a form of maintenance. Superintendent of Operations, Bill Gaal, says the budget allows for $150 thousand a year to be spent on crack sealing, but he says that budget should be at least $100 thousand dollars higher. Proper crack sealing can prevent water from undermining the asphalt which in a freeze-thaw situation causes pot holes.
There is also a question about the aggregate used in winter. Gaal says it is known that the larger aggregate ( fracture) being used "is causing deterioration of the roads in intersections". His department has been working on a report to cover this issue as well as the possibility of the City setting up its own asphalt plant, and the plus and minuses of the pothole repair machine called the Python 5000.
"This has certainly been a spring and summer and now into fall of conversation around what the real issue is, it’s not just about roads" says Mayor Shari Green "but of water and sewer and the maintenance and its a $12 million dollar a year bill that we’re not funding . We’re trying to find you more(money) and we are appreciative of the hard work that staff is trying to do."
Comments
According to the Mayor City staff is flat ouit trying to please the taxpayer and give value for their dollar.
The Mayor gave us the same story at POPs in the Park on Sunday.She told us how beautifull the park looked giving
credit to her staff for their hard work.But is that whats actually happening? Saw two brand new vacume trucks, three half tons and five employees whatching one guy work near a storm sewer manhole. Every vehicle was sitting there just ideling away.
These new vacume truks would be close to a million bucks each. Why in gods name would we have two of these trucks?
Cheers
We borrow money in this City to build all kinds of buildings, for example; the new Police station. Couldn’t we borrow some to repair our roads? It would actually be an investment because if we don’t repair our roads properly, at the end of the day, we’ll just pay more. For example – if it cost us 10 thousand dollars to repair the cracks in a section of road, that 10 grand could save us a 100 grand in the not to distant future. Take a look at the bigger picture and in the end we could save millions which in the coarse of time pay off what we owe.
Awesome work Bill!! We know it’s not your call to not fund basic maintenance…. The current Mayor ( who may just be the worst mayor ever ) is only perpetuating the previous worst mayor and council’s rock star ambitions in promoting the city with really expensive non infrastructure projects.
Proper crack sealing?
How about any crack sealing Bill. Something that has been lacking for years. You can see the results of it everywhere.
Crack sealing will extend the life of pavement for anywhere from 1 to 4 years if it is done properly. In general during the spring a mixture of oil and sand is spread over the crack and seals it. As the season progresses generally most contractors and road maintenance crews will switch to rubber crack sealing as it expands and contracts better with the changing weather.
Generally the crack is cleaned out with air and then depending on the contractor/maintenance crew will either cut a groove in the pavement along the crack several centimeters deep and about 5 cms wide then the rubber is applied to the crack and sealed and either talc or cement is spread over it to prevent it sticking to vehicle tires and being pulled out til it cools and sets.
If done right it will extend the life of the pavement if done incorrectly well the pavement will eventually break down.
How about having a look at what the highway contractors did with their new pavement at Hwy 16,97? They oiled the seams in the pavement and spread fine crush on them. First time I’ve seen that done but it looks like a really good idea. We’ll have to see how it holds up. Betcha it does.
Oh, I noticed that some of the holes patched along Central street earlier this summer are already caving in. I wonder what’s with that?
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