Road Needs Assessments are conducted periodically by engineering firm D. M. Wills to guide the establishment of road maintenance programs and capital improvement priorities based on the physical condition and traffic volumes for each road in the township.
These reports evaluate roads that are managed and maintained by the Township, excluding County Roads such as County Rd. 10 which are the responsibility of Peterborough County. A comparison of the most recent assessment to the one conducted in 2016 reveals a significant improvement in the condition of township roads.
Road Needs Assessments classify roads into four categories based on factors such as structural adequacy and surface conditions. Roads in the worst condition are identified as having a “NOW” need for attention, which apply to roads with a significant portion of a road showing distress, requiring reconstruction or major rehabilitation to renew its useful life. The next category includes roads that are expected to need work within the next five year period in order to prevent them from falling into the NOW category. The third group includes roads that are expected to remain in good repair for the next six to ten years. Roads outside these categories are expected to remain in good repair for ten years or more.
In addition to individual road ratings, these reports include an overall road system adequacy rating. This is calculated by dividing the number of kilometers of road considered adequate by the total kilometres of road in the township. In 2016, the overall road condition rating for the Township roads was 65%. At the time of that report, many of the roads identified as deficient received that rating because of inadequate surface widths or types, but their structures were generally seen as good.
Fast forward to 2024. The current Road Needs Assessment report submitted to Council last month provided an overall system adequacy rating of 88%. There are five more km of roads in the township, all of them paved, bringing the total township roads to 244 km. Almost 75% of these are covered with surface treatments including single or low Class Bituminous overlay treatment. Thirteen percent are asphalt and the remaining 12% have a gravel surface. Roads in the NOW category has fallen to 7.6 km from the 2016 level of 66 km. This means that almost 66% of all roads are projected to require no significant investment for at least ten years.
The township is also responsible for managing thirteen structural culverts related to bridges and overpasses along township roads. The report outlined six projects recommended for completion within the next five years for a projected expenditure of $164K per year. The township has been relining culverts in disrepair rather than rebuilding them, using a process similar to the one they have been using on sewer lines. This is cheaper than rebuilding and has significantly extended the life of the culverts.
The 2024 report recommends an annual expenditure of $1.4 million for road maintenance activities such as resurfacing, and another $800K to address structural needs as well as an unspecified amount for brush and ditch clean out to keep the road network in good repair. As Director of Public Works Wayne Hancock explains, these numbers are theoretical: in an ideal world, all road work would be completely funded. Actual public works capital and maintenance expenditures are established each year by Council during the budget process. Based on the current road ratings, these decisions seems to be paying off.
Hancock attributes the road quality improvements reflected in these rating changes to careful selection of road works priorities and the extensive use of preventative maintenance activities. For example, the township routinely applies slurry seal one year after roads have new surface treatments which has extended the life expectancy of these roads to up to fifteen years, which is almost double the life expectancy without this treatment.
A key objective of Public Works expenditures is to keep the good roads good. This requires investing in roads before they require complete reconstruction. Capital and maintenance expenditures can extend the useful life of the road network to optimize the value received from investment in this critical infrastructure. Looks like we’re on the right track. KG