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Construction season is nearly here! Lanark County Public Works plans to complete pavement preservation on 17 kilometres of roads this year, with rehabilitation scheduled for 27.9 km and paved shoulders slated for 20.3 km.
The county oversees the construction, operation, repair and maintenance of more than 560 km of roads and 82 bridge and culvert structures.
The total capital budget for this year is $13.7 million, with the federal Canada Community-Building Fund (formerly known as the federal gas tax) covering almost $2 million and the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund covering $865,851.
“We’re continuing to make progress on our initiative to pave shoulders on all county roads,” explained Terry McCann, public works director.
Asphalt pricing has the largest effect on tender budgets and this year the county has welcomed an 8 per cent decrease in pricing after an historic jump of 54 per cent over the last two years. “With the purchase of more than 26,000 tonnes of asphalt planned for 2024, the county is well prepared to weather potential increases to the asphalt price index, which has surpassed $1 million in recent years,” McCann said.
“The county has a five-year planning process approved by council that is used to set priorities for construction projects,” said Warden Steve Fournier (Drummond/North Elmsley Reeve). “Solid, safe infrastructure is one of our largest assets and is a key component to quality of life in Lanark County. Planning is essential to maintaining the infrastructure in a way that is fiscally responsible.”
Projects for 2024 include:
County Road 10 (Scotch Line and North Street): G. Tackaberry and Sons Construction Company Ltd. will be working on County Road 10 beginning May 13. Work includes pulverizing, adding granular material, completing drainage work, adding a Stress Absorbing Membrane Interlayer (SAMI) and paving with warm mix asphalt for 5.7 km from East of Stanleyville Road to Glen Tay Sideroad as well as from Perthmore Street to the CP Rail Tracks. Work is to be completed by July 19 at a cost of $1.2 million.
County Road 43 (Hwy. 43): Tackaberry and Sons Construction Company Ltd. will be working on County Road 43 beginning June 10. Work includes cold-in-place reclamation and paving with a single lift of warm-mix asphalt for 7.6 km from Station Road to Mazie Street. Work is to be completed by Aug. 2 at a cost of $1.7 million.
County Road 6 (Christie Lake Road): Tackaberry and Sons Construction Company Ltd. will be working on County Road 6 beginning May 27. Work includes pulverizing, adding granular, completing drainage work, adding a SAMI and paving with warm mix asphalt for 3.7 km from West of Cameron Sideroad to West of 2nd Con. Bathurst. Work is slated to be completed by July 5 at a cost of $535,512.
County Road 36 (Bolingbroke Road): Crain’s Construction Ltd. Will be working on County Road 36 from April 8 to May 27. Work includes pulverizing, adding granular and completing drainage work from North of Silvery Lane to Red Pine Road for 2.5 km. Double surface treatment with hardened shoulders will be placed at a cost of $526,510.
County Road 20 (Kinburn Sideroad): Thomas Cavanagh Construction Ltd. will be working on County Road 20 beginning July 15. Work includes pulverizing adding granular, complete drainage and paving with warm mix asphalt from Timmins Road to Pakenham Five Span Bridge, for a total length of 1.9 km. Work is scheduled to finish by Aug. 30 at a cost of $759,130.
County Road 511 (Highway 511): Crain’s Construction Ltd. will be working on County Road 511 beginning July 8. Work includes pulverizing, adding granular, completing drainage work and paving with warm-mix asphalt from Tatlock Road northerly for 3.0 km. Work is scheduled to be completed by Oct. 11 at a cost of $1.1 million.
County Road 16 (South Lavant Road): Crain’s Construction Ltd. will be working on County Road 16 beginning May 15. Work includes pulverizing, adding granular and completing drainage work for 3.5 km West of Black Creek Road. Work is scheduled to be finished by June 30, at a cost of $753,290.
Blakeney Bridge: A yet-to-be-chosen contractor will be contracted by Lanark County to replace the Blakeney Bridge, located 800 metres East of Highway 29 on Blakeney Road. Work includes the complete replacement of the bridge structure as well as new abutments, wing walls, guide rails and road alignment improvements. To facilitate the bridge replacement work, bridge access will be closed to the public. Work is scheduled to take place from June to December at an estimated total cost of $3.85 million.
Stress Absorbing Membrane Interlayer (SAMI): This pavement preservation work is scheduled to take place from June 10 to June 25 by Walker Construction Limited at a cost of $431,259.This work will take place as part of the associated road works on County Road 6 and County Road 10.
Culvert Replacement: A total of 11 culverts will be replaced on County Roads 6, 10 and 29 from April to August by Tackaberry and Sons Construction Company Ltd and Crain’s Construction Ltd. at a cost of $248,528.
Micro-surfacing: This pavement preservation work is scheduled to take place from June 3 to Aug. 2 on County Roads 6, 12 and 9 by Miller Paving at a cost of $1.1 million.
Shouldering: A total of 17.1 km of shoulder gravel improvement will be taking place on County Roads 6 and 12 by Tackaberry and Sons Construction Company Ltd. at a cost of $181,184.
McCann notes traffic may be reduced to one lane periodically during these projects. “We ask motorists to please obey signage and traffic control personnel during construction to ensure everyone’s safety.”
Also watch for the county’s public works crews cleaning bridges and conducting roadside mowing, pothole patching and sign repairs throughout the summer. Regular road maintenance activities through other contracts throughout the season include ditching, brushing, crack sealing, line painting and safety barrier repairs.
