When I ask residents about setting council priorities, rural roads is among the top three concerns.
Maintaining and repairing roads is costly – the biggest spending category in Oakland’s budget when you add up equipment, materials and staff. In 2019, council has budgeted $75,000 for maintenance and gravelling plus another $75,000 for road reconstruction. That’s a 20% increase from 2018.
But it’s not enough. It’s never enough.
The Big Problem
Like virtually every municipality in Canada – both rural and urban – we are trying to fix infrastructure built in the era of our great grandfathers. A study in 2016 revealed that 35% of municipal infrastructure in Canada is in fair to very poor condition.
Every year, our fix-it list gets longer. Treesbank, Bunclody, Dunrea, and Tower roads, and the Rounthwaite intersection at Provincial Road 453, all need urgent attention if there’s any cash left after frost boils are repaired.
Our public works manager says the cost to rebuild one mile of gravel road is about $75,000. We have 225 miles of roads in Oakland, so the math is not pretty.
That’s why the time is right for new ideas.
A Better Way To Build
The Rural Municipality of Cornwallis, our neighbour to the north, has been experimenting with a new fix that makes unpaved roads stronger and less susceptible to weather and traffic. A professor at Brandon University helped develop the process and results have been very encouraging, with maintenance on test roads dropping to almost zero. It’s called EarthZyme. Google it.
However, EarthZyme is costly so Oakland-Wawanesa is planning to try a homemade version this summer on a high-traffic road in the southwest.
A mixture of gravel, clay and magnesium chloride will be laid down along the municipal road leading to the Cargill grain elevator near Nesbitt. Magnesium chloride is commonly used for dust control.
Like EarthZyme, the municipality expects this mixture to be more durable. If the experiment is successful, we may see this used on other roads that require frequent and costly repair.
More to Come
Recent polling by the Association of Manitoba Municipalities found that 56% of people in this province believe local governments should spend more money on roads, bridges, water and wastewater-related assets. Makes sense, considering the aging condition of this infrastructure. But who wants higher taxes? We need to spend smarter.
I’m 100% in favour of finding a cheaper way to fix our biggest municipal asset.
Expect to hear more about our roads. For the first time ever, a full assessment is being prepared on everything owned and operated by Oakland-Wawanesa. This report will clearly list the condition of all our roads and be a valuable tool for setting spending priorities in the future.
In the meantime, call the municipal office to report any road issues. Staff needs to hear from you directly.
Regards,
-Glen