By Thia James

Majority of 2013 paving projects complete in PA

Oct 3, 2013 | 6:34 AM

The City of Prince Albert has completed about 78 per cent of the road work projects funded by the $4 million asphalt program approved during this year’s budget process.

But with 22 per cent of the projects on the list yet to be finished, some could be held over to next year, and that’s dependent on the weather and the contractor working on the repairs.

“I mean, we would prefer to get them all done, but that’s only if the weather holds out,” manager of capital projects for the department of public works Wes Hicks said. “Some projects are obviously going to have to carry over if … winter sets in too early.”

He said they can’t pave in sub-zero temperatures – it has to be two degrees Celsius or higher. “We’re quite confident that we’ll be able to pave until Thanksgiving, Oct. 14. Depending on the season, some years you can go until the end of October, but … we’ll just have to wait and see what the weather will allow us to do.”

The last major road repair project spans 12th Street East and West from Second Avenue West to Fourth Avenue East. Hicks said the city still has to complete work on a few more streets downtown.

SIGA

SIGA and Northern Lights Casino main sponsors of the 31st PAGC Fine Arts Festival

4h ago

Workplace incident

City of Prince Albert pleads guilty to workplace safety violation, handed fines

6h ago

Lighting it up

P.A.'s Zablocki leads Regina to victory on Day 4 at Esso Cup

Apr 24, 2024

But the city has also had to work on other road projects that are outside of the list covered by the $4 million dollar repairs. “In addition to that work, we’ve also paved in four other areas. We had the reserve fund, which paid for the reconditioning and paving of the intersection of Central Avenue and 15th [Street].”

The land development fund paid for work done on Guy Drive, Hadley Road, Gillingham Crescent and Smiley Drive. The city also had “water and sewer digs” which involved replacing water mains and then the surface asphalt. It’s also been completing “operation and maintenance” work, which Hicks said is the crew that repairs potholes and small areas in the asphalt. This work is ongoing, he added.

“All of that work is on top of the other 78 per cent. So, in essence, we’ve already spent nearly the $4 million in other programs in addition… We’re at like, about $3.9 million now, but, if you add it all together, we’re aiming for more like about $4.7 [million].”

The bulk of this year’s roadwork comes as a result of the $4 million approved for repairs during the city’s 2013 budget deliberations. Council voted in favour of a $189 residential base tax increase, as well as base tax increases for commercial property owners, to fund road repairs in the city.

A list of projects funded by the program was released by Mayor Greg Dionne in May, and since then, different sections of roads and streets around the city have been closed for upgrades. But work has also been done within the concrete program. This involved laying down fresh concrete in new areas, funded by the land fund, the sidewalk upgrade at the corner of Central Avenue and 15th Street, and the sidewalk replacements where the “water and sewer digs” took place.

More than half a million dollars-worth of work has been completed in the concrete program this year.

Looking ahead to 2014

Aside from the roadwork that could potentially be held over from 2013, more projects have to be selected after the city does its annual pavement management systems review of all of the city’s streets.

The city then uses that program to determine which streets need to be paved next, in the order of “magnitude, or how bad they are,” Hicks said. They’ll then do a visual check of those streets to see if there are any that need to be added or deleted. Then, they have to come up with a list that meets the amount budgeted.

The process of putting together next year’s list will start after this season’s work wraps up. The city will see which roads could not be completed and have to be added to next year. “In the coming months here, hopefully by December, we’ll have our list together of the streets that we propose for next year.”

As for which areas of the city will still need to have road work done, Hicks said: “All of them.”

tjames@panow.com

On Twitter: @thiajames